Emergency shelters across the Caribbean remain ready for hurricane season
Following Tropical Storm Bret and Cindy inundating the Caribbean this month alone, islands in the region remain on full alert for any strong tropical systems that may cause potential damage to their respective infrastructure and livelihood.
Emergency shelters, for example, are on standby for future storm watch and warnings.
In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, several coastal communities on the northeastern side of the mainland were affected by the storm surge caused by Bret, and several residents evacuated to emergency shelters.
Dominica also had their emergency shelters ready, with 101 units ensuring the safety and security of its citizens.
“We all know one of the primary functions of disaster risk management is that of saving lives and to a very lesser extent, property, and so if we are talking of life saving shelter management becomes very critical in that regard and so the state has the responsibility to provide the requisite to ensure the safety and security of the citizenry. Hence, the state has provided to the general population 101 emergency shelters for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season,” stated Shelter Coordinator for National Emergency Planning Organization (NEPO), Mr. Glenroy Toussaint.
Toussaint added that shelter teams have met, planned and organized assigned locations, and they remain fully prepared and “citizens are urged to carry along only necessary basic supplies when the need for occupancy arises.”
Recently, Dominica’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has also launched the Hurricane Preparedness Initiative, which provides residents with essential supplies to make their homes a safer place during storms and hurricanes.
Dominica has been working on becoming the world’s first climate-resilient nation, and has started building sustainable infrastructure with the help of its long-standing partner, MMC Development Ltd., a private developing company that has built more than two thousand residential homes for Dominicans. Most of these projects are funded by the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme.