Minister: Plan in place to help vulnerable after passage of hurricane

By Marlon Madden

Government’s Disaster Social Relief Plan, backed by internal data on vulnerable people, has been activated to help Barbadians in the wake of Hurricane Tammy’s passage, Minister of People Empowerment Kirk Humphrey said Friday.

He told journalists that while he was hoping that Barbados would be spared the worst from the hurricane, which was passing north of the island Friday night, a plan was in place should rescue efforts be needed.

As part of that plan, the ministry would contact individuals and families who are a part of the ministry’s outreach network beforehand to see if they need to be relocated, Humphrey said.

He explained that officials were relying on a database of geographical information to help them respond to vulnerable individuals during and after an emergency.

“In our detailed plan, we have put in place timelines for when we will be able to move according to the watch and when it is clear and so on,” the minister said. “So that Disaster Social Relief Plan has been activated. A part of that is working with the Department of Emergency Management to make sure they are prepared.”

Explaining the geographical information system, Humphrey said it was developed following Hurricane Elsa in July 2021, with assistance from the University of the West Indies.

“The benefit of Hurricane Elsa is that it has allowed us to plan and to fine-tune a lot of our planning over the last months and years. One of the things about not having had a disaster is that you get rusty in terms of disaster preparation and implementation, but as part of our Disaster Social Relief Plan, we have a number of social workers who are on standby, who will move in as necessary,” Humphrey said.

The ministry is almost 100 per cent complete in tagging climate-vulnerable individuals within the ministry’s database, he added.

Humphrey told reporters: “We know exactly where the house is, we know how close they are to a shelter, we know if there is a bus route. So if I take you into that database now I could show you by name where persons are, the parish, if there is a disability and what is the plan to move them.”

Urging Barbadians to pay close attention to the messages from the emergency officials and reputable sources, Humphrey assured that “the plans are in place. We are just hoping that the worst is not realised”.

In relation to the homeless, Humphrey said a number of them had homes to which they could return in the event of adverse weather conditions. In addition, he said his ministry continued to work closely with the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness to encourage those who did not have somewhere to go, to make their way to a shelter.

“Those who are willing to be moved will be moved,” said Humphrey.

“We would encourage them to move early, but the government will not be driving around Barbados dragging people off the street. I also found that in Barbados there are a number of other legitimate non-governmental organisations who [provide assistance]. I feel comfortable that if the worst is experienced they too will be okay.”

Humphrey provided the update on the sidelines of a workshop for people with disabilities at the Derrick Smith School and Vocational Centre.

The workshop, which was the second for Barbados and the 32nd that has taken place in nine Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) member states, formed part of the CTU’s Digital Summit and ICT week for people living with disabilities and was facilitated in association with the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and
Technology. 

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb