The Caribbean must urgently transform the way it prepares for disasters by shifting from reactive emergency response to proactive, people-centred risk management, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
Addressing the agency’s annual Comprehensive Disaster Management Conference, CDEMA Executive Director Elizabeth Riley said the region can no longer rely on traditional disaster management models that focus primarily on responding to emergencies after they occur. Instead, governments and communities must adopt anticipatory risk management that prioritises resilience, preparedness and sustainable development.
She pointed to demographic changes projected by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, which estimates that one in four Caribbean residents will be aged 60 or older by 2050. At the same time, rising crime, migration and geopolitical pressures are creating new vulnerabilities, while climate-related hazards are becoming more frequent, interconnected and severe.
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