Are you and your home natural disaster-ready?

Organisations and locals work together to magnify the importance of natural disaster mitigation.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]lice Joseph is a Gros Islet resident whose house sits near the bottom of a big hill. Her home has never been flooded, with good reason. “I make sure I have a drain,” she says, pointing at the patterned cement pressed into the ground, flush with the grass walkway at the entrance of her courtyard.

The water comes from the top of the crest and rushes downhill to her home, where it reaches her man-made trough that craters about 15 cm into the ground. It carries all of the water away, safely. Alice explains that her metal roof is bolted in securely to the tops of the white-brick walls that create the structure of the home. This excludes any chance of a storm blowing the roof away.

Although hurricanes and large storms aren’t necessarily common in Alice’s region, she always carries meal supplies, water, candles and batteries: “I’m all prepared.”

Saint Lucia and the rest of the Caribbean are almost one month into hurricane season with no major disasters tearing through the islands. However, the Ministry of Health is expecting an “above normal” hurricane season. The National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), alongside the government, is warning citizens to prepare for any natural disasters—from floods, to hurricanes.

“It takes one major hurricane to have a significant impact disrupting the overall operation of the Ministry of Health,” said health disaster coordinator Dr. Glensford Joseph, in a press release earlier in the month. “We’re taking every measure to ensure that we are adequately prepared to respond efficiently and effectively to any potential storm or hurricane that we may face.”

NEMO has identified different types of natural disasters, besides hurricanes, that can still damage a home and tremendously affect a family’s life. Extreme heat events, floods, landslides and storms created in the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITZC) are more common natural disasters that can set people back.

NEMO has set out guidelines for households to ensure minimal damage to the wellness of families and their homes. Before the storm arrives, NEMO recommends that families stock up food, water and other safety materials for five days, per person. It is equally as important to store folders, papers and other easily damaged materials in plastic containers. Be sure to check up on your home and auto insurance to confirm you are protected against any damages caused by the storms.

For some, these types of modest precautions can’t protect their homes from disaster. In Bexon, flooding is exceedingly common. A severe flooding happens about once a year. Residents practise much more drastic measures to guard their valuables and houses from floods. Some have seen their neighbours strapping furniture and valuables to the roofs of their homes. Others have started to reconstruct their houses on stilts that rise over a metre and a half off the sullen ground.

“It comes in my house and destroys everything I have,” says Harold Fevrier, a resident of Bexon. Where he lives,
his neighbours have built a wall to block the water from reaching their house, but sometimes even that isn’t enough. Bexon is prone to flooding due to a poor drainage system and waterways clogged by garbage, overgrown foliage and debris.

The school, as well as the church in Bexon, sits high on top of a hill, overlooking the rest of the community. When a natural disaster strikes, the residents are prepared and gather at these bunkers. Different areas of Saint Lucia are affected by different types of hazards. The relief organisation points out that it is important for individuals to know the history of weather hazards in their community in order to better prepare for those events.

See this week’s special

12-page edition of

The STAR Businessweek  devoted to Disaster Preparedness.