The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

SEVEN years after Hurricane Dorian devastated parts of The Bahamas, the government says it is trying to move the country away from a disaster system centred on emergency response and towards one built around preparation, financing and resilience before the next major shock.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the lesson from Dorian is that disaster resilience must be treated as part of national development rather than something addressed only after catastrophe strikes.

“Every dollar invested in resilience today reduces the cost of rebuilding tomorrow,” Mr Davis said as The Bahamas hosted its Whole-of-Disaster Risk Management Symposium during the week marking the seventh anniversary of Dorian.

The symposium brought together government officials and international partners to review lessons from recent disasters and strengthen plans for future threats.

He warned that the next national emergency may not take the same form as Dorian. “It may be another hurricane, but it could also be extreme flooding, drought, wildfire, a major disruption to our telecommunications, electricity or water systems, or another crisis that cascades across sectors,” he said.

Mr Davis said disaster risk management must be viewed as broader than emergency response. “It is economic policy,” he said. “It is infrastructure policy. It is climate policy.”

He said resilient hospitals, stronger shelters and improved infrastructure all reduce the consequences for Bahamians when disasters strike.

“The lesson of Hurricane Dorian is this,” Mr Davis said. “Resilience is not separate from development.”

Minister of State for Disaster Risk Management McKell Bonaby said the government is moving away from a model focused primarily on responding after an event and towards one that manages risk before, during and after disasters.

Mr Bonaby pointed to the establishment of a disaster prevention fund intended to finance measures such as stronger shelters, better communications, improved early-warning systems and greater community preparedness.

He also cited the creation of a capitalised $17m disaster emergency fund intended to ensure resources are available immediately when emergencies occur.

“We can no longer afford to wait and see,” Mr Bonaby said.

However, he said funding and infrastructure alone would not make the country resilient.

“Building capacity is critical,” Mr Bonaby said. “Resilience requires trained personnel. It requires informed communities. It requires reliable communication. It requires strong and dedicated leadership and coordination.”

He said disaster preparedness must extend beyond government agencies and become a responsibility shared with communities across the islands. “It requires all of us to understand that disaster preparedness is a shared responsibility,” Mr Bonaby said.

Steven Collins, acting country representative and chief of operations for the Inter-American Development Bank, said The Bahamas has made significant progress in disaster risk management since Dorian and has developed one of the region’s strongest legislative frameworks.

“We stood with The Bahamas before Hurricane Dorian,” Mr Collins said. “We stood with The Bahamas in the aftermath of Dorian, and seven years later, we remain proud to stand alongside government and people of the country as they continue to build a stronger and more resilient future.”

He said the country has strengthened institutions, advanced legislation, improved governance arrangements and expanded disaster risk financing during the past seven years.

Mr Collins said the changes reflect a deliberate effort to move beyond recovery and towards resilience. He described The Bahamas as a recognised regional leader in disaster risk management, particularly because of the breadth of its legislative framework.

The IDB has also incorporated lessons from Dorian and other disasters across the region into its own approach.

Mr Collins said the bank’s board approved new disaster and climate-risk financing tools earlier this year to help countries strengthen fiscal resilience and gain quicker access to funding after major events.

He said those initiatives reflect lessons learned from disasters throughout the region.