Boat damaged during Hurricane Joaquin
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Bridgetown, Barbados, January 11, 2016 (CDEMA) – 28 technical personnel from the Bahamas National Disaster Management System will benefit from a three day training course in Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis. This training activity will be conducted by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in The Bahamas. The training will be held at the NEMA offices from January 12th to the 15th 2016.
In efforts to strengthen the capacity of the National Coordination Systems, the CDEMA Coordinating Unit is seeking to improve the Bahamas National Disaster Management System by building the capacity of trained persons to execute Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA). This is being done through the promotion of the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy and in exercising CDEMA’s mandate to enhance adequate emergency disaster response capabilities among Participating States. The DANA process provides a systematic approach for conducting damage assessment and determining needs in an effective and timely manner in order to positively influence response and recovery actions in an impacted State. The process ensures the collection of damage data after any hazard impact to inform immediate needs; standardizes the procedures used for damage assessment and needs analysis, inclusive of estimating costs of impact and recovery, and facilitates the recovery phase by identifying the facilities for urgent rehabilitation and long-term reconstruction.
On September 30th, 2015, Hurricane Joaquin became the tenth named hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season which affected the CDEMA Participating State of the Bahamas (southern and central Islands). With maximum sustained winds near 125 mph (205 km/h), the Islands of the Bahamas primarily impacted were those to the South, including Acklins Island, Crooked Island and Long Island. The CDEMA deployed three Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment Teams (RNATs) in response to a request from the National Emergency Management Agency in The Bahamas following the passage of Hurricane Joaquin.
“One of the key observations following the deployment of the RNATs by CDEMA was the need for a strengthened DANA process functioning at the local levels in The Bahamas,” said Joanne Persad,Programme Manager, Preparedness and Response at the CDEMA. She noted, “A strong DANA system is important for the early identification of needs to the impacted population and early quantification of damage. This also facilitates the estimation of the potential cost of recovery.”
In addition to the training in DANA, the CDEMA will also conduct an After Action Review as part of the process of response operations to identify strengths, weaknesses and areas of improvement. The primary goal of an After Action Review is to improve preparedness and response following the impact of a hazard, by examining the actions taken before, during and after the impact. In the case of Hurricane Joaquin on The Bahamas, this resulted in damage to infrastructure and homes from severe flooding, storm surge and hurricane force winds.
Funding for this activity is provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in support of the Bahamas via the CDEMA mechanism post impact Hurricane Joaquin.
