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Last Updated: Dec 4, 2017 - 9:46:53 PM |
 Remarks Dr. The Hon. Hubert A. Minnis Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas 10th Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Conference Melia Nassau Beach Resort Monday, 4 December 2017 8:30 A.M
- Conference participants,
- Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to address the 10th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management, under the theme:
“The Road to Resilience Checkpoint 2017: Building Resilience through Partnerships”.
The Government of The Bahamas is pleased that through the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, we have been able to partner with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency to host this important forum on comprehensive disaster management.
I extend the warmest welcome to the delegates who have travelled to The Bahamas to participate in this Conference.
We are happy to have at the Conference, disaster management practitioners from Latin America and other Caribbean States, the Pacific and international partners who will share their experiences on disaster risk reduction efforts.
I am pleased to see that on Thursday, there will be a session on “Community Resilience and Youth”.
Please permit me to express our gratitude to CDEMA for its support in conducting Rapid Needs Assessment Teams (RNAT) to those areas in The Bahamas recently affected by Hurricane Irma.
We are also grateful to our international partners such as the Pan-American Health Organization-World Health Organization, USAID/OFDA, and other partners who readily assisted when called upon.
I also wish to express my appreciation to various ministries of the Government, the staffs of NEMA and the CDEMA Coordinating Unit, and to private sector, the media, and all the other agencies who are working to ensure the success of this Conference.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This Conference is being held in the aftermath of several devastating storms which ploughed through our region this year, leaving massive destruction in their wake.
Hurricanes Irma and Maria are hurricanes we will long remember. Sadly, the economic, environmental, social and psychological damage will remain for quite some time.
Hurricane Irma affected Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Barts, St. Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Hurricane Maria unleashed its destructive fury on Dominica, Guadeloupe, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Turks and Caicos, Cuba and on Ragged Island, in The Bahamas, which was devastated by the monster storm, and was left uninhabitable.
The final death toll for Puerto Rico is still unknown. Most of the residents of Puerto Rico remain without electricity.
There was unprecedented destruction to The Commonwealth of Dominica, with about 30 people killed and many thousands left homeless.
In an address to Parliament in the wake of Hurricane Maria, I noted:
“In his address to the UN, Prime Minister Skerrit spoke of the devastation on Dominica, a Caricom partner, with a population of approximately 75,000 people.
“He said:
“ ‘ … The stars have fallen. Eden is broken. Our homes are flattened. Our buildings roofless. Our water pipes smashed. And road infrastructure destroyed.
“‘Our hospital is without power. And schools have disappeared beneath the rubble. Our crops are uprooted. Where there was green, there is now only dust and dirt. The desolation is beyond imagination.’ ”
I also noted:
“Reports suggest that eighty percent of the buildings have either been destroyed or severely damaged. The beautiful rainforest of Dominica, which gave life to the island and its tourism industry, has been flattened.”
Hurricane Maria reminded us of the potential for the utter destruction of entire countries in our region.
Correspondingly, the monster storm also reminded us that we must act collectively as a region in response to such storms.
The Bahamas was happy to offer assistance to Dominica through the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, which dispatched the HMBS Lawrence Major, a roll on roll off ship, which took goods and supplies from local and regional donors to Dominica.
The Bahamas Government also temporarily relaxed its immigration rules for a number of school children from Dominica who wished to continue their education here.
Several other countries in the region provided assistance, including taking in a number of citizens from Dominica.
In the midst of such storms the urgency of addressing the mitigation of climate change is paramount.
Professor Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology notes: “Global warming is tangibly increasing hurricane risks around the world.”
Various climate models suggest that damage from natural disasters have increased sharply. Such damage is likely to worsen, especially from flooding.
The National Wildlife Federation in the United States notes: “The latest science connecting hurricanes and global warming suggests more is yet to come.
Tropical storms are likely to bring: higher wind speeds; more precipitation; and bigger storm surge in the coming decades.”
As small-island developing states are at great risk of climate change, we must develop new mindsets and protocols in this era of superstorms.
By example, because of the projected path of Hurricane Irma and the potential destruction, The Bahamas Government instituted an emergency evacuation to New Providence for the residents of several islands and communities.
This was the largest such evacuation exercise of and in the history of The Bahamas.
As a region, we must continue to press through Caricom, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) the United Nations and in other international forums, for the promised assistance from developing countries to help countries in our region to mitigate against the effects of climate change, overwhelmingly caused by developed countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We are constantly reminded that the countries in our region are located in one of the most hurricane-prone areas in the world.
The risks we face threaten our fragile economies, and demand that we have in place sound disaster risk management systems.
We must continue to build disaster resilient communities through partnerships for resilience.
Here in The Bahamas, our NEMA team has met with the CDEMA Coordinating Unit to discuss the country work programme and its alignment with national goals identified in the regional CDM Strategy.
Our priorities are mapping of vulnerable areas and community preparedness.
We are building capacity in our Family Islands, and working to bring communities to a point where they can respond as quickly as possible in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, including logistical capacity.
I have perused the programme and I am confident that at the end of these four days you will leave here with a better understanding of what we all need to do in our respective jurisdiction ways to move further along the “CDM Road to Resilience”.
I wish to thank all the development partners, and regional and international agencies who provided support for this Conference.
Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I wish you a successful Conference, and encourage you to take time out to enjoy the hospitality of The Bahamas beyond the Conference site.
And do return to The Bahamas to enjoy more of the islands and communities of our archipelago.
Thank you and good morning.
© Copyright 2017 by thebahamasweekly.com
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