Kingston, Jamaica, April 15, 2013 – On Friday April 12, 2013 the Government of Jamaica and the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), formalising a donation of US$100,000 made by CCRIF to the Government of Jamaica to support Jamaica’s post-disaster recovery and restoration initiatives following the effects of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The MoU signing and exchange took place at the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Kingston, Jamaica.

Thirty-two countries* will participate in a full-scale tsunami alert exercise in the Caribbean on 20 March 2013. The goal is to test the reaction capacity in countries of the Caribbean and adjacent regions, including the East Coast of Canada and the United States, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda. The exercise was organized under the auspices of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

The new funding will support restoring damaged housing, improving access to drinking water and helping the most affected people regain their livelihoods.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) will be donating US$30,000.00 to the Earthquake Unit, University of the West Indies (UWI), to facilitate the installation of four motion seismographs (accelerometer) in the Kingston Metropolitan Area Including the offices of ODPEM.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Persons with disabilities in Portmore, St Catherine, are to be a part of a pilot early warning system being implemented by Panos Caribbean, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the Combined Disabilities Association (CDA).

The project is being funded by the Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund to the tune of Canadian $75,000.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship Argus has broken off from drug-busting duties in the Caribbean to deliver disaster relief aid to Jamaica.

The aid delivered will help Jamaicans rebuild and repair more than 70 schools damaged last month by Hurricane Sandy.

Whilst the Jamaican authorities dealt with the immediate aftermath of the storm, which barrelled through the Caribbean and up the Eastern Seaboard of the USA one month ago causing widespread devastation in places, Argus was asked to help with the longer-term repair and rebuilding process.

• Cruz Roja Española, a través de su Fondo de Emergencias, contribuye a apoyar a los países afectados por el reciente huracán Sandy o el terremoto de Guatemala para ofrecer asistencia de primera necesidad como abrigo, cobijo o suministro de agua segura.

El impacto del huracán Sandy en Centroamérica y Caribe y del terremoto de Guatemala ha llevado a Cruz Roja Española a reforzar su intervención humanitaria en estos países, en estrecha colaboración con la Cruz Roja local.

In preparation for the start of the season with the highest risk of dengue transmission due to rainy seasons and increased temperatures, the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) recommends Member States (especially those in the southern hemisphere) to implement their integrated preparedness and response mechanisms in order to prevent transmission and prevent dengue caused deaths.

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 9, 2012 – The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) and the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of The University of the West Indies have entered into a partnership to enhance the Accelerometric Network in the Eastern Caribbean and Jamaica in order to strengthen the evaluation and mitigation of seismic risk across the region.