FOR generations, disaster management in the Caribbean has largely followed a familiar pattern. A hurricane approaches. Floodwaters rise. Emergency shelters open. Relief supplies are mobilised. Governments respond.
Then the cycle begins again.
Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips is arguing that this approach is no longer sufficient for the realities confronting the Caribbean. He is right.
The region today faces a convergence of threats unlike any in its history. Climate Change is intensifying storms, flooding and droughts. Global conflicts are disrupting energy markets and supply chains. Cyber threats are increasing. Public health emergencies remain a constant concern. These risks no longer occur separately; they often occur simultaneously, placing enormous pressure on governments, economies and communities.
This is why the Prime Minister’s call for resilience to become a core function of governance rather than simply an emergency response mechanism deserves serious attention.
The numbers alone make the case.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), extreme weather events have imposed average annual losses equivalent to 2.13 per cent of GDP across the Caribbean between 1980 and 2020.
Over the same period, climate-related disasters affected more than 24 million people across the region, and caused more than US$22 billion in damages. In some countries, single disasters have erased years of development gains in a matter of hours.
The OECD further warns that underinvestment in climate-resilient infrastructure can reduce GDP growth by almost one percentage point in the first year, with cumulative losses reaching as much as 15 percentage points over a decade. Conversely, every dollar invested in resilient infrastructure can generate up to four dollars in economic benefits through avoided losses and uninterrupted services.
These figures explain why resilience is no longer simply an environmental issue. It is an economic issue. It is an investment issue. It is a national security issue.
For small states with limited fiscal space, disasters are not merely temporary setbacks. They can derail budgets, delay infrastructure projects, weaken investor confidence, and increase debt burdens for years.
Guyana understands this reality well. Although the country sits outside the traditional hurricane belt, much of its population and economic activity remains concentrated along a low-lying coast vulnerable to flooding and sea-level rise.
At the same time, Guyana is investing billions of dollars in highways, bridges, housing developments, healthcare facilities, ports, energy infrastructure and industrial expansion.
Protecting those investments is inseparable from development itself.
This understanding is reflected in several initiatives currently underway, including the Early Warning for All Implementation Plan, updated disaster-risk legislation, the Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Act, expanded multi-hazard warning systems and the planned Gas-to-Energy Emergency Response Contingency Framework.
Importantly, Guyana’s approach mirrors a broader shift taking place across the Caribbean. For more than two decades, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) has advocated Comprehensive Disaster Management, a model that integrates disaster risk reduction into national planning, infrastructure development, economic policy and governance.
The objective is simple: Anticipate risks before they become disasters.
That is why the upcoming Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management is so timely.
The Caribbean has always been resilient. But resilience today requires more than recovering after disaster strikes. It requires anticipating threats, investing ahead of need, and governing at the speed of risk.
As the Prime Minister rightly observed, the cost of acting late rises with every passing season. The future of the Caribbean will depend not only on how well it responds to crises, but on how effectively it prepares for them before they arrive.