06/05/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/05/2025 12:58
We're at the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Colorado State University is forecasting 17 named storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes. That's above the historical average of 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. And we know all too well just one can be enough to change everything.
But this isn't just about meteorology. The Caribbean countries, Mexico, and Central America-especially Small Island Developing States-remain highly vulnerable.Why? Because of settlements built in high-risk zones, fragile housing, informal economies, weak infrastructure, and unreliable basic services. And inequality in access to information and resources make many communities far more exposed than others.
Every year, hurricanes cause not just billions of dollars in damage and losses, but also interrupt long-term development. In 2024 alone, Hurricane Beryl impacted 16 percent of Grenada's GDP, and 30 percent of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines'. In Dominica, Hurricane Maria in 2017 impacted 92 percent of its GDP.
With forecasts pointing to an especially active season, the time to act is now. Here are some key recommendations to help you prepare:
1. Anticipation: Check your home's condition, your workplace or your business, as well as your basic services. Reinforce whatever needs attention. It's better to be safe than sorry.
2. Organization: Assign clear roles within your family. Who is responsible for what in case of an emergency? Set meeting points and identify trusted contacts. Communication may fail, but organization saves lives.
3. Planning: At the community, institutional, or business level, update your preparedness and continuity plans. Define safe zones, evacuation routes, and identify those who will need special support.
4. Information and Communication: Knowledge is power. Update your risk maps, follow official channels, and ensure that the entire community is well informed before, during, and after any storm.
UNDP has activated its Hurricane Preparedness Mechanism for the second consecutive year, focused on strengthening response capacity in Central American and the Caribbean.
In 2024, we worked with governments, communities, and the private sector in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic where we focused on the reactivation of economic activities-in the latter, complementing the livelihood recovery initiative supported by the European Union.
Community preparedness actions were funded by ECHO in Honduras using multidimensional risk analysis.
Information management was improved in Colombia and Venezuela by piloting the RAPIDA risk analysis tool.
And in Cuba we integrated a gender perspective in hurricane preparedness and response.
Looking ahead to 2025, the Mechanism will continue expanding its impact in Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.
In this context, the upcoming launch of the Regional Human Development Report, "Under Pressure: Recalibrating the Future of Development in Latin America and the Caribbean" comes at a crucial time. It will be an essential tool for better understanding the factors that increase the vulnerability of our communities, and for driving transformative solutions that strengthen preparedness and disaster response capacity. It is a key resource for understanding, preventing, and transforming our reality in the face of growing climate risks in the region.