2 V ulnerability in our Caribbean region takes many forms. Devon Rowe, CARICAD will be vociferous, strident and persistent in our enduring call for our vulnerability to be put at the core of Development Planning. Our Sustainable Development will be jeopardised unless we make Resilience a foundation plank and a pillar of our long-term national and regional planning efforts. Executive Director CARICAD Satellite view of Hurricane Irma in 2017. (NOAA image) In our small states the public sector is unquestionably the engine of post-event recovery in Disaster Management. During the last 10 years the region has been hammered by hazards and negative events that appeared in many forms. It is the public sector that must continue to work effectively in such circumstances for the private and non-government sectors to have a hope of fulfilling their intentions and ambitions. That is why CARICAD continues to work closely with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to develop capacity in Planning, Human Resources Management, Leadership, General Management and Teamwork in particular for the public sector in CARICOM member states. This 2022 version of the Special Hurricane Edition of our Horizon newsletter is designed to continue to create awareness and share knowledge as we prepare for the peak of the 2022 Hurricane Season. We emphasise the public sector but we are inclusive of all. We invite you to embrace the CARICAD conceptual framework and mantra of Prepare, Perform and Transform for the management of crises and disasters. This special edition reinforces some of our well established perspectives but also presents you with new information for reflection and action. We are grateful to our partners, CDEMA, and the Department of Disaster Management (DEM) in Barbados for their continued support. We are grateful also to our former Programme Specialist Frankie Michael for his unflinching dedication to the production of this yet another special edition for the 2022 hurricane season. Devon Rowe, Executive Director CARICAD and Editor-in-Chief of the Horizon Newsletter “Natural disasters in the Caribbean are becoming more ferocious and frequent even relative to small states. The recent devastations of Category 5 hurricanes Maria and Irma (both in September 2017) demonstrate how powerful storms can lead to widespread destruction, loss of life, and weaker economic growth prospects. For some disasters, damages well exceed the size of the economy—Dominica, for example, suffered damages amounting to 226 per cent of GDP when it was devastated by hurricane Maria. That means that it would take Dominica's output at least 5 years to recover to pre-hurricane levels. Building Resilience to Natural Disasters in the Caribbean Requires Greater Preparedness.” By Sònia Muñoz and İnci Ötker IMF News: IMF Country focus
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