Sunday 10 September 2017

Surviving and recovering Hurricane IRMA in regions of the Caribbean

Hurricane Katie (left), IRMA (center), Jose (right)
September 8, 2017


For those on all the island nations in the Caribbean basin, here are some tips and recommendations you might want to consider, given the challenges you are all presently facing. As a disaster recovery specialist having observed what is currently happening all across the Caribbean, there are some common themes on how best to cope and move forward that I'd like to share with you. These tips are in no specific order of priority.
1) Check in with your neighbors and family through any means possible by telephone, email, skype, etc.or walking to their known shelter or home.
2) Use the FEMA smartphone App for trusted updates on Government support services that will ramping up over the next week. The smart phone App works for Android and iPhone.
3) Double check your information with more than one source if it isn't from a government institution. Best news sources online are NBC, CBS, ABC, BBC and local affiliates to any of these organizations.
4) Limit your comments on posts in this community. It creates a very long scroll list for members to find information, which drains battery power on your smartphone - if that's your only information resource device.
5) Do not be alarmed by the news now focused on Florida. All Caribbean islands are being paid attention to by those that have the responsibility to respond - the Government. Media exposure maybe reduced, but not Government response.
6) Logistics takes time given the nature of this Hurricane. Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and the east coast are the staging points for ships. They will have to deal with rough seas at slower speeds. European nations are flying in supplies and moving naval ships as fast as they can.
7) Airports are being repaired and will be active with relief flights of supplies as fast as humanly possible. But it still takes time and coordination. Hurricane Irma's aftermath of post storm activity will make things difficult as flights must depart farther away than normal given the fact that Florida is now not available as a staging point for flights. Do not expect commercial flights to return to regular service anytime soon given the damage that will likely happen in Florida.
8) The International Military community is responding. It may not appear that they are, but US Southern Command, US Coast Guard, Royal Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy assets are being deployed to the Caribbean. It takes time and there's nothing that can help speed it up than what is already being done. The Military is moving as fast as possible. The United Nations has deployed several organizations throughout the Caribbean to help support recovery efforts.
9) Take stock of your position and make a list of things you need. Ensure that you prioritize and be prepared to share those resources as best you can. It might be best to share in the cost of some important items if necessary as you make requests for resupply including fuel, generators, lights, batteries, water and hygiene products.
10) Work together and remain focused on the immediate tasks. While surveying where you live, make notes on paper or take pictures of your community and make sure you share with important information included to community leaders. This will help in determining how best recovery efforts can be managed and prioritized for everyone's safety.
11) Remain safe by being observant and aware of your family's whereabouts and what everyone is doing. Observe by thinking what the impact of the damage will be on recovery efforts. Examples include power lines, water pipes, types of debris, level of destruction, and access to your neighborhood and weaknesses that you see. Ask yourself, how would you go about recovery? That helps you determine what you need to do to remain safe and keep alive over the next several weeks and months ahead.
12) Without a doubt, remaining calm and reducing your stress level will be almost impossible keep in check. The best way to cope is to talk to your local friends and neighbors and help each other in person. Being online all the time will not help solve those issues. Work together and see what expertise and help you can contribute to each other. Doing so keeps you busy, productive and gives everyone a sense of how you can move forward in a positive light.
13) Resupply cannot solve everything. Tackling all the issues you are now faced with all at once, will not help either. Past disaster recovery experience shows that working towards recovery and rebuilding one step at a time is the best approach. Fully complete one task before moving onto the next one. It will solve a lot of complexity in how to move forward.
14) By engaging locally and in person, the better your sense of what will be required for your recovery will be. Engaging does not mean complaining about it to local public safety officials. It means asking questions, but that does not mean it should be a vector to vent your anger. Mother nature is a powerful destructive force when these storms occur. There's no agency in the world that can fix these problems overnight. Everyone wishes it could be done, but it can't. By asking questions and getting answers - as much as they may not be the answers you don't want to hear, understand what is being given as an answer. When a response given is "we don't know" or "I have no answer to that question", it simply means that they are being honest in that support options are limited by other factors out of their control. It does not mean they are not willing to help as mentioned in several points listed above.
15) The best thing you can do is remain positive and make goals on how best to recover. It will be hard and it will not be easy for all you. But it can be done and is an important part of your healing and recovery process. Every community in the Caribbean is going through this. It will be a international recovery effort and know, teams are preparing to help everyone as best they can.
If you have questions, try to ask them locally in your community. Those are the best places to get real answers that apply specifically to you and your family. If you still have challenges and concerns that you believe are not getting answers too, leave a detailed comment here and I will attempt to answer it.
You will all come out this hurricane stronger. That's the best way to think of this event despite the obvious rhetorical thoughts that suggest otherwise. Visit our Disaster Management portal to learn more about dealing with disasters.

Red Cross Check in and Registery
https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php

FEMA App download 

https://www.fema.gov/mobile-app

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