The Pacific and Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are susceptible to many hydro-meteorological and other hazards, namely tropical storms and hurricanes, thunderstorms or lightning, coastal storm surges, floods, flash floods, coastal flooding, river flooding, tsunamis, drought, strong winds, heat waves, and dust or haze. These hazards have the potential to cause coastal erosion, landslides, mudslides, epidemics, and the movement and spread of toxic substances and volcanic material.
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges to human society in contemporary times. Statistics show that the last decades have already seen a sharp rise in economic, social and environmental damages due to climate and weather-related natural hazards – and scientists expect the frequency and intensity of such extreme to rise due to climate change.
The project aims at establishing a sustainable Regional Climate Centre (RCC) for the Caribbean housed at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH). By developing and distributing climate and weather products and services, the RCC will support adaptation to climate variability and change and enhance disaster risk reduction capacities in the Region.
An initiative to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems in the Caribbean was launched on November 20 during the dry season Caribbean Climate Forum (CariCOF) meeting in Barbados. The Caribbean region is highly exposed to high-impact hydrometeorological hazards such as hurricanes and tropical storms, causing floods, landslides and storm surge. In 2017, Hurricane Irma caused massive destruction in Barbuda resulting in the subsequent full evacuation of the island while Hurricane Maria caused devastation Dominica. Barbados suffered from flooding as a result of Tropical Storm Kirk in September 2018.
