Editorial | Emulate international disaster risk-reduction best practices

Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest storms to hit Jamaica, has exposed the vulnerabilities of the country’s disaster preparedness and planning. The storm uncovered gaps in planning, coordination and long-term investment in resilience, which have exacerbated the challenges of the disaster recovery process. It is critical, therefore, to plan for safer, smarter and more resilient infrastructure. Though there may not be a foolproof plan for a storm of Melissa’s magnitude, we can be better prepared to bounce back.

There are lessons to be learnt and, at the same time, cues taken from countries that have robust disaster risk-reduction mechanisms.

Japan stands out in that regard.

The country, over the decades, has deep-rooted disaster preparedness plans which have been shaped to minimise the loss of life and material damage. The Sendai Framework — the global blueprint for disaster risk reduction — adopted in Japan in 2015 post the 2012 tsunami, offers tested systems community practices and technical tools, which Jamaica can study, customise and put into practice.

The Japanese government, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), over the decades, has been instrumental in strengthening Jamaica’s disaster preparedness. The agency has been working on the areas of technical cooperation and hazard-mapping under the Caribbean Disaster Management projects. They have imparted training to officials and also installed emergency-communication equipment, designed to sharpen early warning, coordination and community response.

Impetus should be given to strengthen these initiatives, coupled with joint research and capacity-building programmes. Japan-Jamaica bilateral relations, which completed 60 years in 2024, has climate-change mitigation and adaptation as one of the central pillars.

This also strengthens The Gleaner’s position to build for climate change, institutional reform and international cooperation. Jamaica must translate such external support into clear, locally owned plans that reduce future risks.

There should be emphasis given to practical and community-centred knowledge exchange and capacity building. In Japan, for example, there’s a strong bond between use of high-end technology and sustained public education. Disaster risk reduction is an integral part of the school curriculum. There is a timetable to organise drills, and there are clear lines of responsibility across government, private sector and civil society.

These systems are tested, reviewed and updated, and maintained by regular review. Taking a cue from Japan, the culture of preparedness should be cultivated by Jamaica with urgency.

TARGETED TECHNICAL SUPPORT

This newspaper recommends the government seek targeted technical support to meet the island’s priorities. Post Hurricane Melissa, there is a need to institute resilient housing standards, improved drainage and coastal defences, and better early-warning and communications systems for remote communities.

Entities like the JICA have decades of experience designing building standards, hazard mapping and forecasting systems appropriate for small islands and coastal regions. It is critical to forge long-term partnerships around specific, measurable projects — retrofitting hospitals and schools, upgrading key infrastructure, and installing community warning systems. The cooperation should go beyond open-ended technical assistance, little benefits of which percolate to the grassroots level.

The government should also consider joint programmes that strengthen local institutions and civil society. The director general for the Disaster Management Bureau in Japan (Bousai) has a blueprint for robust community-based disaster risk reduction. This involves consistent training for municipal leaders, teachers and emergency volunteers. In Jamaica, the disaster recovery planning needs resources for parish-level planning, public education campaigns and mental health support for survivors. This is critical to restore the social fabric that disasters fray.

Some of the initiatives that Jamaica can consider adapting or partnering can include:

• Community-based disaster risk-reduction programmes, a combination of local knowledge with scientific hazard maps and drills.

• Institutional framework and legal instruments with clearly defined laws and a central coordinating council that define roles across ministries, local authorities and first responders.

• Continuous public education and routine drills in schools and communities

• Early warning and hazard mapping, installation of real-time alert systems and public access to localised hazard maps.

• Resilient infrastructure and retrofitting, to include stringent building codes, flood control mechanisms, and engineered coastal protections informed by scientific assessment.

• Partnering with international cooperation and knowledge networks and collaborative co-created projects.

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

For Jamaica to establish resilient disaster risk-reduction mechanisms, it should forge technical – constituting tools, technology and standards; institutional – incorporating law, planning and operations, and human – including training, education and community empowerment, partnerships with Japan. Each element of the proposed partnership reinforces the other.

Additionally, this newspaper is encouraging the Jamaican government to:

• Pursue dialogues with JICA, the Asian Disaster Reduction Center and Japan’s Cabinet Office for peer exchanges .

• Look at technical assistance and skills transfer for resilient public infrastructure

• Partner on mapping national community preparedness, prepare hazard maps, shelter information and alerts that are in every household across the island.

• Look at establishing a joint research unit to study how climate change is resulting in severe weather systems and how Jamaica, and the wider Caribbean can adapt Japan’s initiatives to mitigate the same.

The Gleaner is further encouraging, at the same time imploring, for Jamaica to look for meaningful international partnerships with countries like Japan. These proposed partnerships need to be transparent, time-bound commitments to empower Jamaican people, centred on competence and capacity building, not dependency or handouts.