Pandemic hits shelters

There will be fewer spaces at the shelters this hurricane season due to social distancing protocols.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Executive Director Elizabeth Riley explained that housing at public shelters will be constrained and that private sheltering will be the appropriate option wherever possible.

“Private homes should be well secured for the season and in addition to hurricane supplies, extra water and cleaning provisions. Vulnerable persons such as the elderly, physically impaired, should be monitored and assisted in the event of a hurricane,” she said.

Riley’s remarks came today at CDEMA’s Annual Hurricane Season Press Conference, where she indicated that all systems are ready for the 2021 Hurricane Season which experts are predicting may be above average.

She said with an increase of COVID-19 positive cases being reported in some parts of the region and the presence of variants, the Caribbean must continue to adhere to COVID-19 protocols even during threats from weather systems.

She also indicated that with 17 named storms, including eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes being forecasted for this year, compared to an average of 14 main storms over the last 20 years, the National Hurricane Centre has issued regular tropical outlooks from May 15, two weeks earlier than in the past.

The CDEMA official reiterated that in light of the fact that it only takes one event to make an impact, hurricane preparedness is critical every year.

The Executive Director also indicated that CDEMA has also advanced the area of shutdown procedures, a project being financed by the Caribbean Development Bank to apply standard operating procedures for phasing down national operations in the event of a hazard.

Riley said governments have traditionally used the shutdown procedures as part of appropriate action in the interest of public safety and security to ensure that citizens, critical personnel and national assets are protected from the impacts of an oncoming threat.

“The project has addressed the need for strengthening the linkages between national disaster offices and the general public as well as the private sector to improve the understanding of emergency response procedures.

“Through an assessment, shutdown procedures in Barbados, Bahamas and Haiti, during Hurricane Matthew in 2016, new guidelines for emergency response national shutdown procedures in CDEMA states were drafted this month and we look forward to the rollout of this guidance in our states,” she said.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed in April between CDEMA and the Caribbean Alliance for National Psychological Associations (CANPA) will be an important component to delivering the psychosocial support service which is being undertaken collaboratively with the University of the West Indies (UWI), Riley explained.

“It will allow the 19 participating states to benefit from the institution’s expertise on psychology in disaster response to coordinate mental health and psychosocial support. 
(AH)