Caribbean

Island Vulnerability explores the challenges which isolated geographies face when dealing with risk and disasters by examining the processes which create, maintain, and could be used to reduce their vulnerability. This page provides information on the Caribbean:

• Region-wide websites


• Region-wide references


• Anguilla


• Antigua and Barbuda


• Barbados


• Bermuda


• British Virgin Islands (BVI)


• Cuba


• France's Departments


• Grenada


• Jamaica


• Montserrat


• St. Kitts and Nevis


• St. Lucia


• St. Vincent and the Grenadines


• Trinidad and Tobago


• U.K. Overseas Territories

This page provides information specifically related to vulnerability (including risk, disasters, and sustainability), rather than general information such as travel details, country profiles, government websites, or history. The information provided is not intended to be comprehensive, but is indicative of the vulnerabilities which islands experience and how sustainable solutions might be developed and implemented. The publications listed reflect those in the library of Island Vulnerability.

• CARDIN
  Caribbean Disaster Information Network at UWI Mona
  "CARDIN, in collaboration with its partners, seeks to provide a new and dynamic approach to accessing and disseminating disaster related information in a manner that adequately prepares and minimizes the effect of disasters in the Caribbean Region. This will be achieved through the collection, indexing and dissemination of disaster information to produce a comprehensive database which encompasses the English, French, Spanish and Dutch speaking Caribbean."

• Caribbean Conservation
  "Caribbean conservation is a movement powered by many organizations, who focus on the natural resources that exist within the ring of islands that make up the Caribbean community. It strives to protect the coral reefs, the wildlife, the islands themselves and works to change the dependency on fossil fuels so that the communities can begin to use more renewable energy."



The old headquarters of the Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA), the predecessor of Caribbean Conservation.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 1999)

• CCCCC
  Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre
  "The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre coordinates the Caribbean region’s response to climate change. Officially opened in August 2005, the Centre is the key node for information on climate change issues and on the region’s response to managing and adapting to climate change in the Caribbean. It is the official repository and clearing house for regional climate change data, providing climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States through the CARICOM Secretariat. In this role, the Centre is recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean."

• CDEMA
  Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency
  "Facilitator, driver, coordinator and motivating force for the promotion and engineering of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) in all Participating States. CDEMA's functions are as follows:
  (a) mobilising and coordinating disaster relief;
  (b) mitigating or eliminating, as far as practicable, the immediate consequences of disasters in Participating States;
  (c) providing immediate and coordinated response by means of emergency disaster relief to any affected Participating State;
  (d) securing, coordinating and providing to interested inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations reliable and comprehensive information on disasters affecting any Participating State;
  (e) encouraging - (i) the adoption of disaster loss reduction and mitigation policies and practices at the national and regional level; (ii) cooperative arrangements and mechanisms to facilitate the development of a culture of disaster loss reduction; and
  (f) coordinating the establishment, enhancement and maintenance of adequate emergency disaster response capabilities among the Participating States.
  

• CEHI
  Caribbean Environmental Health Institute
  "The Institute exists for the purpose of ensuring that the Caribbean citizenry, both present and future are able to experience a long and healthy life."

• CEIS
  Caribbean Energy Information System
  "A regional network among a group of Caribbean countries, committed to the pooling and exchange of energy information. Its databases of information provides support for energy sector use and development, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the national development objectives of participating countries."

• CHAMP
  Caribbean Hazard Mitigation Capacity Building Programme
  "The project is seeking to enhance regional capacity to reduce vulnerability to the effects of natural hazards. This will be done through the development of national hazard mitigation policies and implementation programmes, the promotion of the wider use of hazard information in development decisions and the strengthening of safe building practices building training and certification. CHAMP activities will be carried out in the four pilot states of Belize, British Virgin Islands, Grenada and St. Lucia."

• CRMI
  Caribbean Risk Management Initiative
  "An umbrella programme designed to build capacity across the Caribbean region for the management of climate-related risk."

• ECLAC/CDCC
  Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean / Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee
  A list of links with a Caribbean focus on "Natural and Environmental Disasters".

• IDSD
  Information for Decision-Making for Sustainable Development for Caribbean Small Island Developing States
  "As a step towards addressing gaps in access to information for decision-making for sustainable development in the Caribbean, the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) are collaborating on a one-year effort to be implemented in the Caribbean entitled 'Information for Decision-Making for Sustainable Development (IDSD) Project'. This website provides access to outputs from the IDSD Project. This includes the results gathered from assessment missions to the region, materials for a training course on information management, thought pieces and essays on approaches to information management, and a collection of best practices."

• stormCARIB
  Caribbean Hurricane Network
  "find information, weather discussions and local reports regarding tropical systems threatening the Caribbean islands. A central part of this website is the network of special local hurricane correspondents, living on the islands, who will report, when need be, on how it looks and feels like around them."

• CARICOM. 1989. The Port of Spain Accord on the Management and Conservation of the Caribbean Environment. Issued by The First CARICOM Ministerial Conference on the Environment, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 31 May - 2 June 1989, full text (215 kb in PDF).

• Caviedes, C.N. 1991. "Five Hundred Years of Hurricanes in the Caribbean: Their Relationship with Global Climatic Variabilities". GeoJournal, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 301-310.

• CDERA. 2002. "Issues Paper: Climate Change and Disaster Management" prepared for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Brainstorming Workshop, 6-7 June 2002, Pommarine Hotel, Barbados. Prepared by CDERA (Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency) for the Organization of American States.

• CDERA. 2002. Report of the Brainstorming Workshop on Adaptation to Climate Change in Caribbean Disaster Risk Management, 6-7 June 2002, Pommarine Hotel, Barbados. Prepared by CDERA (Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency) for the Organization of American States.

• CDERA. 2003. Adaptation to Climate Change and Managing Disaster Risk in the Caribbean and South-East Asia, Report of a Seminar, Barbados, 24-25 July 2003. Prepared by CDERA (Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency) for the Inter-American Development Bank.

• Day, S., C. Kilburn, and B. McGuire. 2008. Issues in Risk Science: Tectonic Threats in the Caribbean. Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre, London, U.K.

• Hammerton, J.L., C. George, and R. Pilgrim. 1984. "Hurricanes and agriculture: Losses and remedial actions". Disasters, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 279-286.

• Jessamy, V.R. 2002. "Progression of Vulnerability of OECS States: A Historical Analysis of Root Causes". The Society for Caribbean Studies (UK) Annual Conference Papers, Volume 3.

• Lewis, J. 1980. "Hurricane Damage". Nature, vol. 287, 9 October, p. 480.

• Lewis, J. 1991. The development of school design and hazard resistance, construction training and curriculum infusion. Educational Architecture Unit, Caribbean Sub-Region, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation), full text (5,224 kb in PDF).

• Lewsey, C., G. Cid, and E. Kruse. 2004. "Assessing climate change impacts on coastal infrastructure in the Eastern Caribbean". Marine Policy, vol. 28, pp. 393-409.

• McGuire, W.J., M.C. Solana, C.R.J. Kilburn, and D. Sanderson. 2009. "Improving communication during volcanic crises on small, vulnerable islands". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, vol. 183, pp. 63-75.

• McIntosh, C.E. 1984. "Methods of increasing food self-sufficiency following disasters in the commonwealth Caribbean". Disasters, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 273-278.

• Mercer, J., I. Kelman, B. Alfthan, and T. Kurvits. 2012. "Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change in Caribbean Small Island Developing States: Integrating Local and External Knowledge". Sustainability, vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 1908-1932, full text (as a webpage).

• Mossler, M. 1996. "Environmental Hazard Analysis and Small Island States: Rethinking Academic Approaches". Geographische Zeitschrift, vol. 84, issue 2, pp. 86-93.

• O'Keefe, P. and C. Conway. 1977 (April). Natural Hazards in the Windward Islands. Bradford Disaster Research Unit Occasional Paper 14, University of Bradford, Bradford, U.K., full text (1,946 kb in PDF).

• Poncelet, J.L. 1997. "Disaster Management in the Caribbean". Disasters, vol. 21, no. 3 (September), pp. 267-279.

• Prevatt, D.O., G.M. Marcelle, I. Kelman, L.-A. Dupigny-Giroux and F.J. Masters. 2010. "On Reducing Hurricane Damage to Housing in the Caribbean Islands". Presentation and paper in the Proceedings of the 13th US-Japan Workshop on the Improvement of Structural Design and Construction Practices, Big Island, Hawai'i, U.S.A., 20-22 April 2010, abstract (8 kb in PDF)

• Rasmussen, T.N. 2004. Macroeconomic Implications of Natural Disasters in the Caribbean, IMF Working Paper WP/04/224. IMF (International Monetary Fund), Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

• Ratter, B.M.W. 1996. "Complex Resource Management - Requirements for Sustainable Development on Small Caribbean Islands". Geographische Zeitschrift, vol. 84, issue 2, pp. 114-124.

• Reid, H.F.M., B. Birju, Y. Holder, J. Hospedales, T. Poon-King. 1990. "Epidemic scabies in four Caribbean islands, 1981-1988". Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 298-300.

• Richardson, C.H. 1991. "Hurricane-borne African Locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) on the Windward Islands". GeoJournal, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 349-357.

• Trotman, A., R.M. Gordon, S.D. Hutchinson, R. Singh, and D. McRae-Smith. 2009. "Policy responses to GEC impacts on food availability and affordability in the Caribbean community". Environmental Science & Policy, vol. 12, pp. 529-541.

• Toulmin, L.M. 1987. "Disaster preparedness and regional training on nine Caribbean islands: A longterm evaluation". Disasters, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 221-234.

• UNEP (M.C. Bernal, L.M. Londoño, W. Troncoso, P.C. Sierra-Correa, and F.A. Arias-Isaza). 2004. Caribbean Sea/Small Islands, GIWA (Global International Waters Assessment) Regional Assessment 3a. University of Kalmar, Sweden on behalf of UNEP.

• UNEP (A. Villasol and J. Beltrán). 2004. Caribbean Islands, GIWA (Global International Waters Assessment) Regional assessment 4. University of Kalmar, Sweden on behalf of UNEP.

• UNEP and SPREP PROE. 2005. Caribbean Environment Outlook. UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya.

• Horsford, I. 2010. Hurricane Earl – Final Damage Assessment Report for Antigua and Barbuda's Fisheries Sector. Fisheries Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment, St. John’s, Antigua, full text (522 MB in pdf).

• Hodgkinson-Chin, E. 2001. Antigua/Barbuda Hazard Vulnerability Assessment Project: Final Report. Unit of Sustainable Development and Environment, OAS (Organization of American States), Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

• Lewis, J. 1984. "A Multi-hazard History of Antigua". Disasters, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 190-197.

Historic Hazard Events for Barbados, compiled by Bryan J. Boruff as of 2006.
(137 kb in Microsoft Word Format.)

• 7 May 1902 5 mm of tephra falls on Bridgetown from the eruption of Soufrière volcano on St. Vincent.

• 22 September 1955 Hurricane Janet.

• 6 October 1976 CIA-backed agents place a bomb aboard a Cubana flight from Seawell International Airport in Barbados to Kingston, Jamaica. After the bomb explodes, the pilots try to return to Barbados for an emergency landing but smoke from the fire might have incapacitated them, although other accounts suggest that two bombs were on board. All 73 passengers and 5 crew on board are killed as the aircraft plunged into the sea. The CIA later helps the main bomber escape from a Venezuelan jail where he was being held on terrorism charges.

  

  Memorial to the Cubana terrorist victims at Paynes Bay on Barbados' west coast.
  (Copyright Ilan Kelman 1999)

• 3-4 August 1980 Hurricane Allen.

• 16-17 August 2001 Tropical Storm Chantal.

• 23 September 2002 Tropical Storm / Depression Lili.

• 7 September 2004 Hurricane Ivan.

Some Resources:

• Belle, N. and B. Bramwell. 2005. "Climate Change and Small Island Tourism: Policy Maker and Industry Perspectives in Barbados". Journal of Travel Research, vol. 44, pp. 1-10.

• DEM
  Department of Emergency Management
  "To develop, promote and maintain a comprehensive National Disaster Management Programme which will: Educate all citizens about the various elements of Disaster Management. Create appropriate mechanisms which will promote and advance Disaster Management activities at all levels of the society. Promote and institutionalize the practice of appropriate preventative and mitigation measure for all possible hazards. Promote the development and maintenance of effective warning, response and recovery plans for all sectors of the society.

• Future Centre Trust
  "A charitable Non Governmental Organisation which focuses on the environment of Barbados and its resources and methods by which the community can take a greater role in conserving and preserving these resources for now and future generations."

• Griffin, C.E. 2010. "Visitor Safety and Security in Barbados: Stakeholder Perceptions". Ara Journal of Tourism Research, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 104-114.

• Hazard and Vulnerability Data for Barbados, digital spatial data collected or created by Bryan J. Boruff as of 2006.
  (40 kb in Microsoft Word Format.)

• Perry, C.T. 2001. "Storm-induced Coral Rubble Deposition: Pleistocene Records of Natural Reef Disturbance and Community Response". Coral Reefs, vol. 20, pp. 171-183.

Commentary by Ilan Kelman on 3 January 2003:

The Perry paper is interesting in its thorough treatment of the impacts of storms on coral reefs in Barbados. I have not yet found a similar paper examining the impacts of storms, or lack thereof, on the people of Barbados.

When I was Barbados in the late 1990s, mentioning hurricanes frequently produced the refrain "God is Bajan", i.e. God is from Barbados and protects the island from hurricanes. Yet many Trinidadians suggested "God is Trini" which is why Trinidad is immune to hurricanes. Aside from the deity's obvious nationality crisis, storms which had hit only two generations previously had been completely forgotten.

Barbados was tested in 2002 by Tropical Storm / Depression Lili. Reports from Bajans were consistent about zero fatalities and widespread but not devastating damage. Nevertheless, they gave mixed reviews regarding the people's and authorities' reactions. Criticisms did not clearly indicate a different behaviour or attitude than witnessed in other Caribbean islands which are more frequently visited by storms. As well, perhaps the people had been lulled into complacency by Chantal the year before, even though the authorities did not seem to be.

To comment credibly on Barbados' vulnerability, more formal investigations would have to have been completed at the time. Or we might gain such studies retrospectively after the next big hurricane passes over the island. Which asks the question again: does a study exist on the vulnerability of Bajans to hurricanes or are we left reading about coral reefs?

• Aguirre, B.E. 2004. Disaster in Cuba. Preliminary Paper #340, Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware, Delaware, USA.

• Aguirre, B.E. 2005. "Cuba's Disaster Management Model: Should It Be Emulated?" International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 55-71.

• Alvarez, L. 2004. The Potential Correlation between Natural Disasters and Cuba's Agricultural Performance. EDIS document FE490, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, UF/IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, Flordia, USA.

• Alvarez, L., F. Vaccari, and G.F. Panza. 1999. "Deterministic Seismic Zoning of Eastern Cuba". Pure and Applied Geophysics, vol. 156, Issue 3, pp 469-486.

• Castellanos Abella, E.A., and C.J. Van Westen. 2007. "Generation of a landslide risk index map for Cuba using spatial multi-criteria evaluation". Landslides, vol. 4, pp. 311-325.

• Centella, A., T. Gutiérrez, M. Limia, and R. Rivero Jaspe. 1999. "Climate change scenarios for impact assessment in Cuba". Climate Research, vol. 12, no. 2-3, pp. 223-230.

• Defensa Civil. Cuba's civil defence manual.

• Glantz, M.H. 2000. "Climate-Related Disaster Diplomacy: A US-Cuban Case Study". Cambridge Review of International Affairs, vol. XIV, no. 1, pp. 233-253. See more information on the Cuba-USA Disaster Diplomacy website.

• Guerra, J.L. and M.M. de Oca Días. 2002. "Cuba: Beyond a Simple Response to Hurricanes". ISDR Informs - Latin America and the Caribbean, issue 6, pp. 18-19.

• INSMET
  Instituto de Meteorología, Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnología y Medio Ambiente de la República de Cuba
  Cuba's Institute of Meteorology

• Naranjo Diaz, L. 2003 (October). Hurricane Early Warning in Cuba: An Uncommon Experience (27 kb in Rich Text Format).

• Sims, H. and K. Vogelmann. 2002. "Popular Mobilization and Disaster Management in Cuba". Public Administration and Development, vol. 22, pp. 389-400.

• Sygna, L. 2005. Climate vulnerability in Cuba: The Role of Social Networks. CICERO Working Paper 2005:01, CICERO (Center for International Climate and Environmental Research), Oslo, Norway.

• Thompson, M. with I. Gaviria. 2004 (26 April). Weathering the Storm: Lessons in Risk Reduction from Cuba. Oxfam America, Boston, Massachusetts.
  

• UNDP. 2007 (January). Cuba, Case Study, Risk Reduction Management Centres at the Municipal and Provincial Level, Best Practices in Risk Management, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), New York, New York, U.S.A.

• Wieneke, F. 2002. Hurricane Michelle in Cuba: An example of successful disaster prevention (35 kb in Rich Text Format).

• Wisner, B. 2001 (15 November). Lessons from Cuba? Hurricane Michelle, November, 2001 (48 kb in Rich Text Format).

• Gibbs, T. 1998. Vulnerability Assessment of Selected Buildings Designated as Shelters: Grenada. Organization of American States, General Secretariat, Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment, Washington, D.C.

• Global Volcanism Programme's entry for St. Catherine volcano.

• Global Volcanism Programme's entry for Kick-'em-Jenny volcano.

• Kutcher, S. and S. Chehil. 2008. "Application of a needs-driven, competencies-based mental health training program to a post-disaster situation: the Grenada experience". American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 235-240.

• La Grenade, W. 2008. "Balancing Economic Development and Security: Tourism and HIV/AIDS (Grenada)". Social and Economic Studies, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 27-60.

• OECS. 2004. Grenada: Macro-Socio-Economic Assessment of the Damages caused by Hurricane Ivan, September 7th, 2004. OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States), Castries, St. Lucia.

• OECS. 2005 (August). Grenada: Macro-Socio-Economic Assessment of the Damage caused by Hurricane Emily, July 14th, 2005. OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States), Castries, St. Lucia.

• Peters, E.J. 2010. "Impact of hurricane Ivan on Grenada water supply". Water Management, vol. 163, no. 2, pp. 57-64.

• Schiøler, K.L. and C.N. Macpherson. 2009. "Dengue Transmission in the Small-Island Setting: Investigations from the Caribbean Island of Grenada". American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 280-286.

• Walsh, D.P., G.R. Lammert, and J. Devoll. 1989. "The Effectiveness of the Advanced Trauma Life Support System in a Mass Casualty Situation by Non-Trauma Experienced Physicians: Grenada 1983." The Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 175-180.

• Ahmed, S.F. 2008. An Examination of the Development Path Taken by Small Island Developing States: Jamaica a Case Study. Masters thesis from the Island Studies Programme, Faculty of Arts, The University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, download the full text (779 MB in pdf).

  Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are threatened by myriad of economic, environmental, and social issues, most of which are structural in nature and beyond the control of SIDS. To date, SIDS have collectively and unanimously endorsed only one policy document that comprehensively addresses these issues, and outlines a strategy that seeks to mitigate the vulnerabilities facing islands. This document is the 1994 United Nations Programme of Action on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (BPOA). However, close to a decade and a half after the implementation of the BPOA, SIDS continue to be extremely vulnerable to the issues identified in the blueprint for development; indicating that even though SIDS policy makers are acutely aware of the vulnerabilities and long-term threats facing their islands, there exists an inconsistency between the goals outlined in the development plans SIDS governments have collectively negotiated, drafted, and implemented; and the outcomes SIDS are collectively experiencing. In order to investigate this issue, this paper seeks to elucidate the ideological inconsistencies in the development process SIDS have embarked upon. By undertaking an analysis of the BPOA, it is shown that the concept of sustainable development has been conceived primarily through the lens of economic growth as a means to improve the quality of life for island peoples. To this end, we place particular emphasis on Jamaica's path towards development and document the islands ecological-history, as well as follow the major trends in Jamaica's economy, environment, and society since the islands independence, but particularly since the adoption of the BPOA. The central thesis of this paper is that SIDS are trapped into perpetuating a mode of development that is increasing their economic, environmental, and social vulnerabilities.

• Attzs, M. 2008. Natural Disasters and Remittances: Exploring the Linkages between Poverty, Gender, and Disaster Vulnerability in Caribbean SIDS. UNU WIDER Research Paper No. 2008/61, UNU WIDER (United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research), Helsinki, Finland.

• Barker, D. 1993. "Dualism and Disasters on a Tropical Island: Constraints on Agricultural Development in Jamaica". Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, vol. 84, no. 5, pp. 332-340.

• Barker, D. and B. Spence. 1988. "Afro-Caribbean Agriculture: A Jamaican Maroon Community in Transition". The Geographical Journal, vol. 154, no. 2, pp. 198-208.

• Bellingham, P.J., E.V.J. Tanner, and J.R. Healey. 1994. "Sprouting of Trees in Jamaican Montane Forests, after a Hurricane", Journal of Ecology, vol. 82, no. 4, pp. 747-758.

• Berke, P., T. Beatley, and C. Feagin. 1991. Hurricane Gilbert Strikes Jamaica: Institutional Design Implications for Recovery and Development.. Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, U.S.A.

• Berke, P., T. Beatley, and C. Feagin. 1991. Household Recovery Following Hurricane Gilbert: St. James and St. Thomas Parishes, Jamaica.. Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, U.S.A.

• Carby, B.E. and R. Ahmad. 1985. "Vulnerability of Roads and Water Systems to Hydro-Geological Hazards in Jamaica". Built Environment, vol. 21, no. 2/3, pp. 145-153.

• Clarke, G.R.G. and S.J. Wallsten. 2003 (January). Do Remittances Act Like Insurance? Evidence From a Natural Disaster in Jamaica. Development Research Group, The World Bank, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

• Lewis, J. 1995. Project Identification and Equitable Development Planning for Vulnerability Reduction in Areas Affected by Natural Disasters and/or Civil Strife: Jamaica, Hurricane / Flooding / Earthquake, Environment and Community Development (Proposal) full text (1,734 kb in PDF).

• Morris, K.-A.N. and M.T. Edwards. 2008. "Disaster Risk Reduction and Vulnerable Populations in Jamaica: Protecting Children within the Comprehensive Disaster Management Framework". Children, Youth and Environments, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 389-407.

• Moser, C. and J. Holland. 1997. Urban Poverty and Violence in Jamaica. The World Bank, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

• ODPEM
  Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management
  "The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management is committed to taking pro-active and timely measures to prevent or reduce the impact of hazards on Jamaica, its people, natural resources and economy through its trained and professional staff, the use of appropriate technology and collaborative efforts with national, regional and international agencies."

• Osei, P.D. 2007. "Policy responses, institutional networks management and post-Hurricane Ivan reconstruction in Jamaica". Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 217-234.

• Østensvig, I. 2006. Interagency cooperation in disaster management: partnership, information and communications technology and committed individuals in Jamaica. Masters thesis at the Norwegian University Of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway, download the full text (3.0 MB in pdf).

  Jamaica, with its location in the Caribbean, yearly experiences hurricanes and flooding. Hurricane Ivan happened in 2004. This study examines the partnership and interagency cooperation in the disaster management system in Jamaica during Hurricane Ivan. The use of information and communications technology in this system was also studied. Semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted of the involved agencies of the disaster management structures. A questionnaire with structured and open-ended questions was used to collect data at household level. This thesis describes the existing disaster management system in Jamaica, and the involvement of the international community. There is a national and parish level structure, with cooperation among key agencies in the varied specialised area. Popular trust in the system and the ability to prepare for action play important roles in the success of the disaster management. The time aspect and information sharing are key elements to the efficiency of operations. To some extent information and communications technology is used within the system for this purpose. This paper focuses on Red Cross' involvement at international, national and parish levels as well as examples of their partnership with private sector and community-based disaster response. This paper concludes that committed individuals within the system are needed to make the disaster management structure successful. There is also a need for training to improve the interagency cooperation and to utilise the available information and communications technologies. The experience from Jamaica shows that preparedness at community level can benefit the communities more than the disaster management system as such. Their success in community disaster preparedness, strengthen community and national self-esteem.



Overlooking Port Maria and the north coast of Jamaica, taken from Firefly Hill.
(Copyright Ina Østensvig 2003)

• Thomas-Hope, E., H. Semple, and B. Spence. 2000. "Household structure, agrodiversity and agro-biodiversity on small farms in the Rio Grande Valley, Jamaica". PLEC News and Views, no. 15, pp. 38-44.

• Woodley, J.D. 1980. "Hurricane Allen Destroys Jamaican Coral Reefs". Nature, vol. 287, 2 October, p. 387.

• Wunderle, Jr., J.M., D.J. Lodge, and R.B. Waide. 1992. "Short-term Effects of Hurricane Gilbert on Terrestrial Bird Populations on Jamaica". The Auk, vol. 109, no. 1, pp. 148-166.

• Baker, P.E. 1984. "Geochemical evolution of St Kitts and Montserrat, Lesser Antilles". Journal of the Geological Society, vol. 141, pp. 401-411.

• Baker, P.E. 1985. "Volcanic hazards on St. Kitts and Montserrat, West Indies". Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 142, pp. 279-295.

• Berke, P. and D. Wenger. 1991. Linking Hurricane Disaster Recovery to Sustainable Development Strategies: St. Kitts and Nevis, West Indies. Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, U.S.A.

• Brookfield, H. 1999. "Environmental damage: distinguishing human from geophysical causes". Environmental Hazards, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 3-11.

• De Cuba, K.H. 2006. Towards a Sustainable Energy Plan for St. Kitts and Nevis. Department of Science, Technology and Society, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

• Dodds, R. and J. McElroy. 2008. "St. Kitts at a Crossroads". ARA Journal of Travel Research, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 1-10.

• Global Volcanism Programme's entry for Nevis Peak.

• Mitchell, T. 2006. The Challenge of Integrating Disaster Policy into National Development Plans: A Case Study of the Caribbean Small Island Developing States of Montserrat and St. Kitts and Nevis. PhD dissertation, Benfield Hazard Research Centre, University College London, U.K.

  This project examines how disaster management policies are conceived and articulated through international, regional and national institutions. By researching the personalities, power relationships, networks and institutional cultures, we can understand how disaster policies are formulated and transformed as they filter down the institutional hierarchy. One such approach to reducing the impact of disasters is 'disaster mainstreaming', a suite of measures that encourages the marriage of disaster and sustainable development planning within organisations, whether governmental or non-governmental. This concept and its application through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency's (CDERA) Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) project, provides the case study for my research. By working three internship periods to obtain a perspective from within institutions (national scale: Montserrat / St. Kitts & Nevis, regional scale: CDERA, Barbados) and by interviewing key actors in international donor organisations and academic departments, I can discover how the idea of 'disaster mainstreaming' has been translated from academic discourse into policy in Caribbean islands. Questions include:
  -To what extent do academics/donor organisations/executing agencies govern which ideas are converted into applied projects?
  -How do donor organisations/executing agencies/individual states ensure disaster management projects are sensitised to specific cultural/social/institutional situations?
  -To what extent do powerful individuals control the development of policy?

  To monitor how successfully Caribbean islands are internalising disaster mainstreaming, I have developed an analytical framework using twenty subjective indicators with associated grading criteria. This allows progress, or lack of it, to be measured and may help to identify which islands need the most assistance. The initial development of this framework was a product of my first phase of fieldwork in Montserrat and St. Kitts, which allowed the indicators to be tested and modified. Consulting CDERA, national policy officers, practitioners and community groups on the respective Caribbean islands during my second phase of fieldwork will help to develop the indicators further. These indicators will provide a tool for researchers, project officers, politicians and community activists, who need to understand and monitor how advanced disaster management policies are in specific localities.

• NEMA
  National Emergency Management Agency
  Talors, Basseterre
  St Kitts and Nevis
  Telephone: +1-869-466-5100
  Fax: +1-869-466-5310

• Simpson, K. and J.B. Shepherd. 2001 (July). Volcanic-hazard assessment for St. Kitts, Lesser Antilles. Seismic Research Unit, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Nevis until it goes into the darkness, 11 November 1991 (Copyright James Lewis).

• Global Volcanism Programme's entry for Qualibou volcano.

• Mycoo, M. 2011. "Natural Hazard Risk Reduction: Making St. Lucia Safe in an Era of Increased Hurricanes and Associated Events". Natural Hazards Review, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 37-45.

• NEMO
  National Emergency Management Office
  "The role of the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) is to develop, test and implement adequate measures to protect the population of Saint Lucia from the physical, social, environmental and economic effects of both natural and man-made disasters. Its responsibility is to ensure the efficient functioning of preparedness, prevention, mitigation and response actions."

• Potter, R.B. 2001. "Urban Castries, St Lucia Revisited: Global Forces and Local Responses". Geography, vol. 86, no. 4, pp. 329-336.

• Pugh, J. 2005. "Social transformation and participatory planning in St Lucia". Area, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 384-392.

• Saint Lucia's Government. 2003. Saint Lucia National Climate Change Policy and Adaptation Plan. Ministry of Physical Development, Environment and Housing, St. Lucia Government, Castries, St. Lucia.

• Sandersen, H.T. and S. Koester. 2000. "Co-management of Tropical Coastal Zones: The Case of the Soufriere Marine Management Area, St. Lucia, WI". Coastal Management, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 87-97.

• "St. Lucia's Retrofitting Project in Action". 1997. Caribbean Housing Network Newsletter, vol. 2, issue 1 (July), p. 7.

• White, R., G. Engelen, and I. Uljee. 2000. "Modeling Land use Change with Linked Cellular Automata and Socio-economic Models: A Tool for Exploring the Impact of Climate Change on the Island of St. Lucia". Pp. 189-204 in: M. Hill and R. Aspinall (eds.), Spatial Information for Land Use Management, Gordon and Breach, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Les Pitons, St. Lucia
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 1998)

• Adams, J.E. 1978-1979. "Union Island, West Indies: An Historical and Geographic Sketch". Caribbean Studies, vol. 18, no. 3/4, pp. 5-45.

• Anderson, T. 1908. "Report on the Eruptions of the Soufriere in St. Vincent in 1902, and on a Visit to Montagne Pelee in Martinique. Part II. The Changes in the Districts and the Subsequent History of the Volcanoes". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Containing Papers of a Mathematical or Physical Character, vol. 208, pp. 275-303.

• Aspinall, W.P., H. Sigurdsson, and J.B. Shepherd. 1973. "Eruption of Soufrière Volcano on St. Vincent Island, 1971-1972". Science, vol. 181, no. 4095, pp. 117-124.

• Ferdinand, I. 2006. Hurricane Risk Reduction Strategies in the Windward Islands: Public and Practitioners' Perspectives. MSc dissertation from the Faculty of Business, Environment and Society, Coventry University, Coventry, U.K., download the full text (1.7 MB in pdf).

  There is a hurricane season every year in the Caribbean from June 1st to November 30th; however it is possible for hurricanes to occur outside this period. There are different perspectives of hurricanes held by experts to that of the public and this often create discrepancies in implementing risk reduction measures. Perception of hazards plays a role in how people will respond and make decisions. The Windward Islands are not in the direct path of hurricanes when compared to the Caribbean Islands in the north of the Island Arc, however they are often affected even by the presence of a storm in the region which may cause major devastation.

  While a lot of preparations are done to reduce the effects of hurricanes on a short term basis long term risk reduction strategies are minimal or maybe done in isolation to the community. There is therefore need to refocus the goals of Disaster Management to encompass risk reduction in the Windward Island and the Caribbean region as a whole. This can be done more effectively by incorporating the community on a greater level into planning and policies design aimed at risk reduction. Hence there is need for the promotion of a participatory community approach, improvement in early warning systems and greater collaboration in the Caribbean region to make use of the limited resources.

• Global Volcanism Programme's entry for Soufrière St. Vincent.

• Hazard and Vulnerability Data for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, digital spatial data collected or created by Bryan J. Boruff as of 2006.
  (42 kb in Microsoft Word Format.)

• Historic Hazard Events for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, compiled by Bryan J. Boruff as of 2006.
  (103 kb in Microsoft Word Format.)

• Lewis, J. 1997. "The Tale of Three Caribbean Volcanoes: Islands' History,Geography and Vulnerability". Stop Disasters, vol. 32, no. ii, pp. 26-27, download full text (269 kb in PDF).

• Robertson, R.E.A. 1995. "An assessment of the Risk from Future Eruptions of the Soufriere volcano of St. Vincent, West Indies". Natural Hazards, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 163-191.

• Baban S.M.J. 2009. "Developing a Rapid Field Based Approach for Non Specialists to Indentify Landslide Prone Areas". Disaster Advances, vol. 2, no. 4, 43-47.

• Birch, T. and M. Simpson. 2011 (January). Climate change economics on a small island: new approaches for Tobago. IIED Briefing, IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development), London, U.K.

• ODPM
  Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management
  "Implement pro-active measures to mitigate the impact of all hazards that threaten the people of Trinidad and Tobago and provide effective response and recovery in the aftermath of a disaster. This will be achieved in collaboration with our local, regional and international partners."

• Shepherd, J.B. and W.P. Aspinall. 1983. "Seismicity and Earthquake Hazard in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies". Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, vol. 11, pp. 229-250.

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