Overview : Natural hazards cause remarkable losses on the economic and social development of the communities and countries. Disaster preparedness and risk reduction need to be considered as a priority in building resilience and reducing human and economic losses, as well sustaining development investments. Some challenges related to the failure of early warning and effective emergency response include substantial differences in hazard monitoring and forecasting capacities, weak coordination amongst hazard monitoring agencies, decision-makers, emergency responders, civil society and other stakeholders, and complications in in alert dissemination, including the practice emitting neutral alerts which do not reach specific vulnerable populations properly. Early warning alone doesn’t guarantee timely and effective response; contingency plans for preparedness may be outdated, training inadequate and insufficiently participative of all relevant stakeholders. Limited coordination of regional stakeholders in existing response mechanisms, as well as need for enhanced access and management of information, and improved technical capacities, communications and operational readiness, are challenges in ensuring a prepared Caribbean. Identified solutions to address these issues include strengthening regional and national capacities for response and early warning, improving community-based preparedness to minimize losses, and promoting multi-hazard and targeted EWS. In addition, harmonization of response mechanisms and operations, the adaptation of communication technologies to the community context, promotion of multiple communications channels, and clear and understandable early warning messages, and clarity of roles and responsibilities between stakeholders are recommended actions. This project will contribute to specific challenges identified for strengthening preparedness at the national level, and the national disaster management authorities of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will benefit from reviewing and updating EWS protocols and plans in light of the 2017 - 2018 Hurricane season experience; efforts will be placed on targeted messaging to the public, and national system simulations to test whether the community end-user understands the alerts, perceives the risk, and can take action to protect themselves. This project will help decision-makers, such as meteorological and hydrological services, disaster management authorities, and public works engage in coordinated actions so that the community member and local business receives consistent information and guidance on how to act. |