CDC, CDEMA to begin detailed flood impact assessment next week
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has held a virtual pre-deployment briefing in conjunction with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) for a Detailed Damage Sector Assessment (DDSA) to be conducted, following the wide-scale flooding here.
Today’s session followed the arrival of officials from CDEMA, the Regional Security System (RSS) and Pan American Health Organization.
The CDC had requested assistance from CDEMA to prepare a damage and loss estimate report which will inform relief and recovery initiatives, compiling information according to the ‘sectors’ of health, agriculture, mining, infrastructure and housing, water and sanitation (WASH) and the social sector.
The expected outcomes of the Assessment, according to the terms of service, are determinations of the overall direct cost of the impact of the floods, rehabilitation and construction needs of each sector, the long-term assistance required, data for use in quantifying indirect costs for inclusion in a macro-economic assessment report, and data to be fed into other reports.
CDC Director General, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig said the assessment will cover hard-hit areas in Regions Two, Five, Six, Seven and Ten. These regions have been identified as those severely impacted by the floods. Lt. Col. Craig said it is important for the team members to understand the peculiarities of each region, before they start their assessment.
He added that the mission is very important to the CDC, and that President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, is looking forward for the findings.
Executive Director (Ag.) of CDEMA, Ms. Elizabeth Riley thanked the CDC for keeping her agency informed about the situation on the ground.
This meeting included details on the DDSA methodology and format, reporting requirements, and safety and security matters.
There were over 50 participants. Several organisations were represented, including Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Food and Agriculture Organisation, the United Nations Children’s Fund and Caribbean Public Health Agency.
There will be another pre-mission briefing after the CDEMA representatives arrive on Tuesday, with the fully operationalised multi-stakeholder National Emergency Operations Centre. The detailed operational plan for the DDSA will be provided to the sector teams for discussion and feedback. Teams are expected to be deployed across the regions Wednesday.