CDEMA sets US$3 Million targeted budget for hurricane season

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) has set themselves a target of US$3 million for the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season.

This was revealed by the Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Ronald Jackson who spoke to the Barbados Advocate recently.

He said that this figure would be able to respond to multiple disasters in multiple islands should it occur. However, they attempt to at least have anywhere from US$1 million to US$1.5 million so that they can being their operations. In this regard, they work with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and their other partners to ensure that they have this budget in place.

“There are two parts to our budget. There is a budget that deals with the day to day operations and the budget that we look at for response. We have targeted a figure of US$3 million to have on hand so that we can respond to multiple events and multiple countries being impacted. We attempt to at least have on hand anywhere between a US$1 million to US$1.5 million to at least start our operations. So those are the figures that we are targeting and we are working both at the regional government level, but also with our partners and the CDB to make sure that we can have that available if we need to respond.”

Jackson stated that each family also has to make their own preparations and in cases where families simply cannot afford to do this, is where the respective island governments would assist.

“Well, my advice continues to be the same in that this is something that we experience every year. There is no reason to express panic or fear or to go into a sense of complacency, but to listen to our everyday behaviour that we know. We know that the hurricane season comes for us every year because of where we are and so what we need to do is to put things in place that we can put in place. For those who don’t have the capacity – because we have people in our society all across the Caribbean who do not have the means to take steps to prepare themselves – and this is where the State is important and the advocacy of the population around, ensuring that we are calling for modern, social protection mechanisms that can protect those individuals of our country who do not have the means to prepare and the other part of it is to know your shelter, know what your mechanisms are there, know what avenues that are there that are available to help you to prepare, but also to help you in the need that you have to evacuate your home. So pay attention to what is going on and take head and take the steps that are provided by your local disaster responders.”