Caribbean Countries: Focus on Resilience during the Hurricane Season

By Caribe Insider

The tourism industry represents an important engine of the economy of most Caribbean nations; it constitutes the fastest growing sector and the largest contributor to the global gross domestic product in the last 10 years. There is sufficient reason for them to pay greater attention to resilience.

The countries of this geographical area are working on the improvement of services on their beaches and other tourist sites, while directing their strategy towards the goal of increasing the number of tourists that visiting them.

However, from June to November they are exposed to the hurricane season, which has already caused serious damage on this area, so it is imperative to review and activate contingency plans.

The term resilience must not remain just a name repeated in congresses and conventions alerting about climate changes, sea level rise, earthquakes, floods, droughts; but must be held as a flying flag to design and implement better building codes, improve the early warning system and strengthen the emergency response system.

It should also be mandatory to implement adaptation strategies, such as reforestation and the construction of walls to contain tides; as well as building a stronger economy so that the country can count on support when a natural disaster occurs rather than having to rely primarily on external donations or aid.

Working together to deal with weather situations

Participants at the Resilience Summit in Jamaica celebrated in September discussed the urgent need to work together in order to be better prepared for hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, floods and other weather events.

They assessed the most appropriate ways to mitigate vulnerability to climate change, reducing the sensitivity of the affected population and improving the resilience of the society.

Achieving this requires greater sensitivity to the broader social, economic, political and environmental context of a country and its systems; which it will shape the current degree of resilience and the potential for further progress.

June just begins and with it the cyclonic season, in which it is previewed that nine to fifteen storms will be formed, from which four to eight may become hurricanes, and two to four may have sustained winds exceeding 160 kilometers per hour.

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