National

Risk Report Outlines Bah. Vulnerabilities

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – An assessment by the Pacific Disaster Center reveals just how vulnerable The Bahamas is in the face of natural disasters.

Published

2 years ago

October 13, 2022

Berthony McDermott

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – An assessment by the Pacific Disaster Center reveals just how vulnerable The Bahamas is in the face of natural disasters. The 150-page report providing numerous recommendations on the way forward.

The National Preparedness Baseline Assessment Executive Summary outlines areas for improvement in the face of natural disasters. It also lays out islands least likely to bounce back in the face of a major disaster.

According to the executive summary, when it comes to resilience, The Bahamas ranks 58 of 194 countries and eighth out of 35 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The five least resilient islands are Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island, Cat Island, and Long Island.

The most resilient islands are New Providence, Grand Bahama, San Salvador and Rum Cay, the Exumas, and Harbour Island.

Then there’s the multi-hazard risk by islands which are most susceptible to impact from natural disasters.

The five islands most at risk are Acklins, Crooked Island, Cat Island, Andros, and Long Island, while the islands least at risk are Harbour Island, Bimini, San Salvador and Rum Cay, New Providence, and the Berry Islands.

Additionally, The Bahamas ranked 107 of 193 countries for the Global Multi-Hazard Risk rank and 28 of 35 countries in the region.

While The Bahamas has strong command, control, and coordination mechanisms, the organized and defined roles at the national level have not been appropriately replicated for the family islands.

Some recommendations in this regard are:

To provide more specific guidance and oversight to the Family Islands through NEMA.

Refine the policy guidance to establish clarity and realistic expectations on the structure and minimum requirements for disaster management offices on the Family Islands.

And, to review non-traditional approaches to supporting family island disaster management capacity and capability.