A YEAR AGO an earthquake devastated parts of Nepal, killing nine thousand people and damaging almost a million houses. Today tens of thousands of people are still facing undue hardship as not one new house has been built despite the millions in donations.
This is why it was interesting to hear Ronald Jackson, executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), indicate that body’s high level of preparedness for any catastrophe in this region.
It is a good paper-based approach for an area prone to natural disasters of all types, ranging from hurricanes, flooding, mudslides, earthquakes to volcano eruptions and coastal erosion. Grappling with major fires, vehicular accidents and sinkholes can be equally challenging.
While CDEMA exhibits an air of confidence, just one severe hurricane striking a number of islands within the Caribbean at the same time would create utter confusion. That is why every Barbadian household should have its own plan and not wait on CDEMA, the Department of Emergency Management or a fairy godfather to lend assistance after any disaster.
A commonsensical starting point would be to have insurance coverage for our properties and personal effects, whose full replacement value may not be guaranteed, but would at least allow for economic recovery from what can be an emotionally distressing situation.
To emphasise their commitment to this community, insurance companies should not only collect premiums but guide and work with their customers to ensure the required systems and standards are in place to help mitigate risks.
Government must assure that the long-promised National Building Code becomes a reality and mandate model building standards, while there must be clarity on who is responsible for natural disaster recovery measures.
The experience of Tropical Storm Tomas six years ago highlighted a number of deficiencies at the level of both the individual and the state. In a cash-strapped economy, with no major catastrophe fund, it would be unreasonable to expect extensive use of taxpayer funds to support disaster recovery, especially to benefit those who resist protecting themselves.
The business community must also re-examine disaster mitigation as part of its business continuity and risk management plan. This is why last week’s exercise by disaster management students at the Barbados Community College is something that should be commonplace at businesses across the island. It makes no sense having disaster mitigation plans if they are not tested. The recent water outages experienced in many parts of Barbados highlight severe weaknesses in disaster recovery planning at all levels.
So we should acknowledge the importantrole of the District Emergency Organisations as it is these community groups which can best respond to disasters with greater efficiency and speed than national agencies. Nepal is geographically far away but it should be a lesson in the suffering which follows a major disaster. It can be a pathway to long-term misery.