KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama) — The Commonwealth of Dominica, a small island nation in the Caribbean, is not leaving its fate up to chance as they face the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which is predicted to be particularly stormy this year.
“Despite our disadvantages in Dominica, we are not leaving our fate up to chance, as since 2017, we have taken decisive actions to realise our vision to build resilience within key sectors with support from local stakeholders, as well regional, international agencies and organisations such as European Union,” said Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit.
While Dominica cannot prevent hurricanes, they are doing all it can to ensure the safety of its citizens. The government has constructed emergency shelters, trained members in vulnerable communities, and educated citizens on ways they can safeguard themselves.
According to a statement, the Atlantic hurricane season typically runs from June 1 to Nov 30, and during these months, tropical storms are most likely to form and wreak havoc in the Caribbean.
In 2017, Hurricane Maria damaged nearly every building, destroying nearly a quarter of them. Maria felled rainforests and knocked out the electricity, communications, and water supplies.
Since then, the nation has been committed to building back better, with the aim to become the world’s first climate-resilient country.
In May this year, the government of Dominica commissioned two regional emergency shelters by which 300 – 500 people in Castle Bruce and Jimmit will benefit. These self-contained facilities can house those affected by a severe storm for about two weeks.
Following Hurricane Maria, the government created the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD). Its purpose is to lead and coordinate strategic initiatives across all sectors in the country with the goal of leading the climate resilience mission.
The Government of Dominica continues to build resilient climate infrastructure and develop strategies to strengthen the systems to boost capacity at the individual and community levels to more effectively respond to disaster impacts.
For several decades, Dominica has used funds generated by its Citizenship by Investment (CB) Programme to realise its ambitions towards constructing climate-resilient infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters, while creating lasting jobs in construction and tourism.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency