Dramatically shorter hurricane development as climate crisis worsens – Abrahams

Barbados must adapt its disaster response systems to cope with rapidly intensifying hurricanes that can now strengthen from tropical storms to major threats within 24 hours, Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams said Friday.

Speaking at the Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) Advisory Committee meeting at the Savannah Beach Hotel, Abrahams cited recent examples of unprecedented storm development speeds, telling officials: “Hurricane Helen developed from a Category 1 to a Category 4 in about 14 hours; Hurricane Beryl went from a Tropical Depression to a Category 5 in 42 hours, and it went from a Tropical Storm to a major hurricane in less than 24 hours. The timelines are shortening.”

The minister highlighted how climate change is compressing warning times, noting recent extreme weather events, such as a year’s worth of rain in Spain in less than 12 hours.

Whilst commending the meteorological service’s improved public communications in recent months, Abrahams called for other stakeholders in the communications sector to enhance their emergency information delivery systems.

The minister said: “People are getting the warnings in an exceedingly timely fashion. If something changes now, Met [Office] is going to put that warning out now. The organs that deal with disaster management have been doing a superlative job in Barbados, [but] the last piece in the puzzle was those persons who have to help us to inform other persons.

“It is the ability to get the warnings and the information out to those who require it to make informed decisions as quickly as possible.”

The government has made significant investments in early warning systems, which Abrahams described as crucial for public safety.

“We see it as critical that you, the public, are provided with early morning information in sufficient time to make informed decisions on the safety of yourself and your family. You need to know if to run, how much time to run, and where to run to,” he said.

Officials discussed the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) framework which the minister said is “designed to provide warning for multiple different hazards, and to increase efficiency and consistency of warnings through coordinated and compatible mechanisms and capacities”.

He also urged greater corporate involvement in supporting emergency organisations, including District Emergency Organisations (DEO).

“If you are talking about being corporate citizens, then you should invest in the things that protect us all. Not just the things that make a profit for you,” Abrahams said, emphasising that “the climate crisis and our response to the multihazard landscape affects us all”.

Friday’s meeting was the first of the MHEWS Advisory Committee which was recently installed.

Barbados officially launched the National MHEWS Policy, which is designed to protect and safeguard lives, guide decisions and actions, promote sustainable development and provide an enabling environment for implementation.

Director of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Kerry Hinds said the development of the policy was a collaborative effort of the DEM, the US Agency for International Development, and the Office of Policy and Regulatory Reform for Resilience.