Dominica

Summary of modifications from revised Emergency Plan of Action

This 12-month operations update provides an overview of consolidated achievements delivered through the operation in Dominica. The operation has been extended by 3 months (with a new end date of 31 March 2019) to complete the DRR activities funded by the appeal.

Summary of major revisions made to emergency plan of action:

1) The operation was extended from 15 to 18 months; the new operation end date is 31 March 2019.

With the support of the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Organisation (ECHO), WFP has partnered with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to build capacity within CDEMA and its 18 Participating States. To date, WFP has successfully conducted two end-to-end (E2E) supply chain management trainings – one national training in Dominica and a sub-regional training in Barbados.

Who suffers Most from Extreme Weather Events? Weather-related Loss Events in 2017 and 1998 to 2017

The Global Climate Risk Index 2019 analyses to what extent countries and regions have been affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.). The most recent data available — for 2017 and from 1998 to 2017 — were taken into account.

The countries and territories affected most in 2017 were Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka as well as Dominica. For the period from 1998 to 2017 Puerto Rico, Honduras and Myanmar rank highest.

DELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TO BARBADOS, THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES, THE OECS, AND CARICOM/CARIFORUM

Friday, November 23, 2018 — The European Union is releasing to Dominica EC$24 million (7.7M euros), the first tranche of a total of EC$34 million (11M euros), as part of its contribution to the reconstruction of the country following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria last year (2017).

This Study sought to review the efforts of the private sector, in the Virgin Islands and Dominica impacted by hurricanes Irma and Maria, in preparing for, responding to and recovering from these events.

The Study provides:

i. An understanding of BCP and business continuity management (BCM) practice in the private sector in BVI and Dominica.

ii. Improved information on resilience, reconstruction and capacity building initiatives of the private sector to inform practice and address gaps.

Por: Guadalupe Natareno
UNISDR Las Américas y el Caribe

PANAMÁ, Panamá, 14 de Noviembre de 2018 – Organizaciones humanitarias de 17 países de América Latina y el Caribe que trabajan en preparación ante desastres produjeron el documento "Sistematización de evidencias: la preparación ante los desastres hace la diferencia", el cual recopila 60 casos con 70 temas individuales con el objetivo de evidenciar el impacto positivo de la preparación ante desastres en la región.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018 — Today marks the globally celebrated Geographic Information System (GIS) Day which shines a spotlight on a leading technology which is helping tackle climate change, food security, disasters and poverty in OECS Member States.

The technology which uses satellite imagery, can electronically collect, store, analyse and share spatial data from health statistics to land clearing, population movements and post-hurricane destruction to help inform better policy and decision making.

With Small Island Developing States (SIDS) bearing the brunt of economic losses from climate change, making them more resilient to extreme weather events must be a priority, said Inga Rhonda King, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), speaking at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

Mensajes principales

• América Latina y el Caribe se aleja del cumplimiento del Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 2: Hambre cero. Su número de personas subalimentadas aumentó por tercer año consecutivo: en 2017 alcanzó 39,3 millones, en gran medida debido a Sudamérica.

• La malnutrición en la Región toma muchas formas: uno de cada diez niños y niñas menores de cinco años presenta retraso en el crecimiento; uno de cada cuatro adultos es obeso; una de cada cinco mujeres en edad fértil padece de anemia.

If you knew 20 minutes before that a severe flood or tsunami would occur, what would you do? Early warning systems allow individuals and communities a window of time for fight or flight. For time-critical events such as tsunamis, mudslides and flash floods, the warnings are a trigger to action – to move quickly out of the danger area. For more moderate hazards e.g. street flooding, or slower arriving hurricanes, warnings provide an opportunity to fight to protect your family and property, either by relocation or barrier protection in doorways and windows.

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 16 2018 (IPS) - Although their contribution to global warming is negligible, Caribbean nations are bearing the brunt of its impact. Climate phenomena are so devastating that countries are beginning to prepare not so much to adapt to the new reality, but to get their economies back on their feet periodically.

By Kenton X. Chance

BRIDGETOWN, Oct 12 2018 (IPS) - If there is one lesson that Dominican Reginald Austrie has learnt from the devastation Hurricane Maria brought to his country last September, it is the need for “resilience, resilience, resilience”.

And it is not just because he is his country’s minister of agriculture.

When the category 5 hurricane made landfall in Dominica, Austrie, then the country’s minister of housing, was weeks away from harvest time at his two-acre farm where he had 800 plantain trees, in addition to yams.

The United Nations Development Programme’s Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (UNDP J-CCCP) officially handed over a water truck to the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica. This water truck is specifically designed to maneuver Dominica’s rugged terrain, carrying more than two thousand gallons of water and is commissioned under the ‘Acquisition of a Water Truck for Post Disaster use in Vulnerable Communities’ Pilot Project.

Highlights

• With the next general election due within a year, the political climate in Dominica has shifted slightly and subtle campaign efforts can be observed from all political parties. Radio shows, community meetings and the like are more popular and some reconstruction efforts in specific communities have been attributed to political affiliation.

WASHINGTON, October 1, 2018— The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved today a US$31 million additional financing to an ongoing project from the International Development Association for building resilient infrastructure and strengthening the government’s capacity to manage disaster risks in the Eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, which was hit by Hurricane Maria just over a year ago.

GA/12072

General Assembly Plenary
Seventy-third Session, 14th & 15th Meetings (AM & PM)

Speakers Also Cite Diplomatic Breakthroughs in Africa, Korean Peninsula

World leaders underscored the continuing threats of terrorism and cybersecurity while urging protection of valuable principles such as freedom of the press and peaceful electoral processes, as the General Assembly general debate entered its fifth day.

AG/12072

Assemblée générale Plénière
Soixante-treizième session, 14e & 15e séances plénières, Matin, après-midi & soir

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Barbados and St. Lucia, Dominica, Martinique, Guadeloupe

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for St. Vincent and the Grenadines

TROPICAL STORM KIRK

Location: 13.2 North 62.5 West

About 110 miles… West South West of St.Lucia

About 385 miles South East of the British Virgin Islands

Maximum sustained winds…50 mph

Present movement…West at 12 mph

Minimum central pressure…1005 mb

• Tropical cyclone KIRK continued west over the Atlantic Ocean toward the Lesser Antilles. Its centre crossed St.Lucia on 27 September evening UTC as a tropical storm before it moved into the Eastern Caribbean Sea.

• Over the next 48hours, it is forecast to weaken as it continues west away from land.

• In Saint Lucia, there have been reports of downed power lines and damaged roofs.