LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS THE CARIBBEAN

LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS THE CARIBBEAN PART 1: FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN THE CARIBBEAN BASIN FLOODS GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES HIGH BENEFIT/COST PROGRAMS FOR BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT WINDSTORMS EARTHQUAKES VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

NOTE: SEVERE WINDSTORMS WILL BE COVERED IN PART 2; EARTHQUAKES IN PART 3, and VOLCANOES IN PART 4

Flooding and Landslides: Associated With Persistent Rain and Severe Windstorms Planet Earth’s atmospherichydrosphericlithospheric interactions create situations favorable for SEVERE WINDSTORMS, FLOODING, and LANDSLIDES.

THE CARIBBEAN BASIN

The Caribbean: long referred to as the West Indies, includes more than 7, 000 islands; of these, 13 are independent island countries

CARIBBEAN ISLANDS • Aruba, Barbados, Bahamas, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, and Antigua

CARIBBEAN ISLANDS • Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, , Dominica, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Tortola, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Trinidad and Tobago

THE SEVERE WINDSTORM HAZARDS (WHICH INCLUDE FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES) ARE POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS

HAZARDS OF A SEVERE WINDSTORM (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) • WIND FIELD • FLOODING FROM STORM SURGE • FLOODING FROM HEAVY PRECIPITATION • LANDSLIDES (MUDFLOWS) • COSTAL EROSION • TORNADOES (SOMETIMES)

CAUSES OF DAMAGE WIND PENETRATING BUILDING ENVELOPE UPLIFT OF ROOF SYSTEM FLYING DEBRIS SEVERE WINDSTORMS “DISASTER LABORATORIES” STORM SURGE IRREGULARITIES IN ELEVATION AND PLAN SITING PROBLEMS FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES

Flooding, the most common natural hazard, is “the silent killer” and “annual barrier to development” in the Caribbean

CAUSES OF RISK LOSS OF FUNCTION OF STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN INUNDATION INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS FLOODS CASE HISTORIES STRUCTURAL/CONTENTS DAMAGE FROM WATER BORNE DISEASES (HEALTH PROBLEMS) EROSION AND MUDFLOWS CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER

CAUSES OF DAMAGE SITING AND BUILDING ON UNSTABLE SLOPES SOIL AND ROCK SUCEPTIBLE TO FALLS SOIL AND ROCK SUCEPTIBLE TO TOPPLES LANDSLIDES SOIL AND ROCK SUCEPTIBLE TO SPREADS CASE HISTORIES SOIL AND ROCK SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLOWS PRECIPITATION THAT TRIGGERS SLOPE FAILURE SHAKING GROUND SHAKING THAT TRIGGERS SLOPE FAILURE

ELEMENTS OF RISK AND DISASTER

ELEMENTS OF FLOOD & LANDSLIDE RISK HAZARDS EXPOSURE RISK VULNERABILITY LOCATION

A DISASTER CAN HAPPEN WHEN THE POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A FLOOD OR LANDSLIDE INTERACT WITH A CARIBBEAN NATION’S COMMUNITIES

A DISASTER is --- the set of failures that overwhelm the capability of a community to respond without external help when three continuums: 1) people, 2) community (i. e. , a set of habitats, livelihoods, and social constructs), and 3) complex events (e. g. , windstorms, floods, …) intersect at a point in space and time.

Disasters are caused by single- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), cause extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness, joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts.

THE REASONS ARE. . . • When it does happen, the functions of the community’s buildings and infrastructure will be LOST because they are UNPROTECTED with the appropriate measures, codes and standards.

THE REASONS ARE. . . • The community is UNPREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low -probability of occurrence— high-probability of adverse consequences event.

THE REASONS ARE. . . • The community has NO DISASTER PLANNING SCENARIO or WARNING SYSTEM in place as a strategic framework for early threat identification and coordinated local, national, regional, and international countermeasures.

THE REASONS ARE. . . • The community LACKS THE CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a timely and effective manner to the full spectrum of expected and unexpected emergency situations.

THE REASONS ARE. . . • The community is INEFFICIENT during recovery and reconstruction because it HAS NOT LEARNED from either the current experience or the cumulative prior experiences.

THE MAY 2004 RAIN- FLOOD-LANDSLIDE EVENT IN THE CARIBBEAN AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT PROLONGED RAINFALL CAN DO

LOCATION • The May 2004 Caribbean floods took place mainly in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and in Northern Puerto Rico from May 18, 2004 to May 25, 2004.

LOCATION

CAUSE • The floods were caused by over two weeks of persistent rain in the Caribbean, with over 10 inches (25 cm) of rain falling in Haiti and in the Dominican Republic. • The “killer” landslides occurred on the rain-saturated slopes.

IMPACTS • The floods caused considerable damage in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, with over 1, 300 homes being destroyed; • 2, 000 people were killed by drowning and landslides triggered by the flooding.

IMAGES OF PAST FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES IN THE CARIBBEAN NOTE: SOME OF THE POOREST OF THE POOR HAVE BEEN ADVERSELY IMPACTED

HYRRICANE SANDY KILLS 41 IN CARIBBEAN: OCT 2012

HAITI: AFTER HURRICANE SANDY; OCTOBER 2012

HAITI: FLOODING AFTER HURRICANE TOMAS; 2010

HAITI: 2004

JAMAICA: AFTER HURRICANE SANDY; OCTOBER 2012

JAMAICA

SAINT LUCIA

SAINT LUCIA

SAINT LUCIA: LANDSLIDE

SAINT LUCIA: SEARCH AND RESCUE

SANTO DOMINGO

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

THE ALTERNATIVE TO A FLOOD DISASTER OR A LANDSLIDE DISASTER IS DISASTER RESILIENCE

• FLOOD/LANDSLIDE HAZARDS • INVENTORY • VULNERABILITY • LOCATION DATA BASES AND INFORMATION ACCEPTABLE RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK CARIBBEAN NATION’S COMMUNITIES DISASTER RESILIENCE POLICY OPTIONS HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS • PREPAREDNESS • PROTECTION • FORECASTS/SCENARIOS • EMERGENCY RESPONSE • RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE FLOODS & LANDSLIDES PREPAREDNESS FOR ALL THE LIKELY HAZARDS IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE FLOODS & LANDSLIDES TECHNOLOGIES THAT FACILITATE THREAT IDENTIFICATION AND EARLY WARNING IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE FLOODS & LANDSLIDES TIMELY EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES IN THE CARIBBEAN ARE INEVITABLE • ---SO, DON’T WAIT FOR ANOTHER REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT.

STRATEGIC COLLABORATION (i. e. , WORKING TOGETHER FOR A COMMON GOAL) TO MOVE TOWARDS DISASTER RESILIENCE

STRATEGIES FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE • PURPOSE • MONITORING FORECASTS, THREAT IDENTIFICATION, WARNING, AND EVACUATION • TECHNIQIE • DOPPLER RADAR; SATTELITES; INTL SPACE STATION; STRAIN METER ARRAYS; FORECAST MODELS

WARNING: SEPT. 3, 2012

A FORECAST: JUNE 25, 2010

STRATEGIES FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE • PURPOSE • LAND USE CONTROL • COMMUNITY FLOOD PROTECTION • LANDSLIDE PREVENTION • TECHNIQIE • FLOOD AND SLOPE ZONE MANAGEMENT • SANDBAGGING, DIKES, LEVEES, AND DAMS

LANDSLIDE PREVENTION

STRATEGIES FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE • PURPOSE • TEMPORARY SHELTER • INSURANCE and (SELF-INSURANCE) • TECHNIQIE • SAFE HAVENS FOR EVACUEES • FACILITATE RECOVERY