Nassau, The Bahamas—A longstanding partnership between the University of Hawai’i’s Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and the Government of The Bahamas has reached a new milestone in its ongoing journey to increase disaster management capacity within the country and beyond.
Over the past two and a half years, beginning in February 2022, The Bahamas has been working with PDC on the Train-the-trainer program, which culminated in the graduation of twelve disaster management professionals on July 16, 2024.
Through the program, certified trainers became experts on the use of PDC’s DisasterAWARE Pro platform and how to train others on the use of the system’s advanced early warning and risk analytics. Participants who were certified represent a wide range of organizations across The Bahamas, including The Bahamas Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Authority (formerly known as the National Emergency Management Agency and the Disaster Reconstruction Authority), the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, the Ministry of Disaster Risk Management, the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs, the University of The Bahamas, the Department of Meteorology, and the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
In June 2022, PDC supported the Restoration Island Cays exercise, which stimulated landfall of a Cat 5 hurricane to streamline The Bahamas’ hurricane response strategies.
“This program was invaluable and enabled a wide range of disaster risk reduction professionals to gain hands-on experience with early warning systems and technologies to minimize the impact of natural hazards. One key benefit that sets this program apart is the ability to integrate our datasets into a state-of-the-art tool where we can easily access information from multiple agencies and have it modeled in real-time impact products for disaster response.
Our decades-long collaboration with PDC has been vital to ensuring The Bahamas remains disaster-ready. From the many disaster response exercises and simulations we’ve completed to training in new technologies, our partnership continues to build institutional capacity for the whole of The Bahamas.”
—Caitlin Taylor, Representative of the DRM Authority
DisasterAWARE is used nationally by The Bahamas to support the country’s disaster risk management objectives and the operational needs of its new DRM Authority. The system is a global platform that provides early warning for all and facilitates disaster management planning, early response, and improved multi-agency coordination during major disasters. DisasterAWARE is used by national disaster management organizations in countries around the world to reduce disaster risk and better inform policy and practices.
The Train-the-Trainer program was generously sponsored by the Organization of American States, PDC, and The Bahamas’ DRM Authority. It is the latest initiative in the partnership between PDC and The Bahamas which spans nearly two decades of capacity-building in disaster management. The program concludes at a particularly pivotal time when the region is forecast to see a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season. The Bahamas, being situated in one of the most vulnerable geographical regions, has been subject to repeated impacts from devastating hurricanes. For over a decade, PDC and The Bahamas have partnered in response to hurricanes Irene, Joaquin, Matthew, and Cat 5 hurricane Dorian (2011, 2015, 2017, 2019), which left over $3.4 billion in damages and claimed the lives of 74 people.
The photo above, from Train the Trainer programming in The Bahamas in 2023, demonstrates the critical role impact and exposure modeling plays in sharpening disaster response. Country-specific vulnerabilities were outlined alongside suggested action items in PDC’s 2021 National Disaster Baseline Preparedness Assessment for The Bahamas. The data and information resulting from the assessment were integrated into DisasterAWARE and leveraged continuously during the Train-the-Trainer program, building long-term capacity within the country and for all the family islands.
PDC and the DRM Authority are already working on plans to continue the partnership and further The Bahamas’ capacity in all phases of disaster management. Discussions are underway regarding more training and exercises, including in the Family Islands with administrators and staff. Additionally, the DRM Authority expressed the desire to update PDC’s National Disaster Preparedness Baseline Assessment (NDPBA) which was completed in 2021 with new data. Finally, in support of the mandated need for a Bahamas early warning capability, PDC and the DRM Authority are looking to use DisasterAWARE Smart Alert capability for all Bahamians and potentially a customized DisasterAWARE version in the future.
About PDC
Winner of the 2022 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction, the University of Hawai’i’s Pacific Disaster Center is a global leader in disaster risk reduction. Recognized for its National Disaster Preparedness Baseline Assessment, the Center is helping nations worldwide operationalize the goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development Goals. For more than 28 years, PDC has enabled its partners with indispensable tools and insights to support evidence-based decision-making. The innovative applications of the Center’s science, technology, and advanced analytics continue to grow in demand as PDC works with diverse communities to save lives and build resilience for a safer world.
