The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is an inter-regional supportive network of independent emergency units throughout the Caribbean region. Formed on September 1, 2005, as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), it underwent a name change to CDEMA in September 2009.
Members
The participating member states and agencies of the CDEMA include:
Activities
The stated role of the CDEMA is to coordinate disaster response to member countries. CDEMA personnel worked in Grenada and Jamaica in early September 2004 after the passage of Hurricane Ivan.
During the mid-1990s, CDEMA provided disaster support for the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano in Montserrat. The CDEMA also regularly monitors the Soufriere Hills volcano, in addition to the active undersea volcano named Kick 'em Jenny, to the north of Grenada. Members of the Regional Security System have also requested military and logistical assistance through the agency after natural disasters.
Background
The Pan-Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Project (PCDPPP) was established in July 1984 to control and minimize the damage caused by severe weather in the Caribbean region and the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to the establishment of the PCDPPP, disasters in the area were addressed via private donors, a method that was heavily dependent on others and failed to help the countries of the Caribbean's cause for independence.
The PCDPPP was a collection of international sponsors such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Canadian International Development Agency, the Government of the Netherlands, and the United Nations Disaster Relief Organization (UNDRO). The PCDPPP failed to break the Caribbean's direct and indirect dependence on Europe and the United States. Ultimately, the PCDPPP failed to achieve full participation from Caribbean countries.
In 1989, after the widespread destruction of Hurricane Hugo, there was a focus on creating more effective natural disaster management and preparedness. In 1991 the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) was created. CDERA was formed with 16 participating Caribbean nations. With this organization, Caribbean countries had regional support along with international support. This increased the probability of aid coming from regional sources. CDERA would later change its name to CDEMA, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.
History
In 1989, when the PCDPPP was beginning to fall apart, Hurricane Hugo struck the Caribbean. Relief still relied on foreign aid from countries such as the United States. By 1990 the insurance companies were criticizing the PCDPPP and how it was necessary to revise the way in which the Caribbean responded to natural disasters. The construction industry, in particular, was criticized for not enforcing enough standards to ensure that structures could withstand disasters in the Caribbean. In 1991, the PCDPPP ceased to exist, and for about a month, the insurance agencies in the region were desperate for a replacement. In terms of disaster relief and management, the Caribbean region was in limbo, awaiting a strong force to aid them in a time of crisis. There were little signs of funding for the formation of such an organization, and meeting the deadline of June 1, 1991, for the implementation of a new disaster relief organization was looking doubtful. Funding for disaster relief in this region has always been a primary issue. In September 1991, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was finally able to take the initiative and set up CDERA.
The growth of CDERA is said to have been very slow throughout the 1990s. Things began to improve starting in the twenty-first century with CDERA. In 2003, studies showed that the Caribbean Metrological organization based in Trinidad and Tobago had developed earlier warning systems in the Caribbean that were saving lives. There was still controversy over whether the people had confidence in this system, and to improve emergency response, they needed to study how the public interacted with these systems.