The Virgin Islands VHF Emergency Network is being strengthened with improved transmission capabilities and 75 new VHF handsets ahead of the height of the Atlantic Hurricane Season.

Emergency Communications Manager at the Department of Disaster Management (DDM), Jasen Penn said that in the coming weeks the department will be distributing handsets to critical locations around the Territory, such as fire stations, Customs, Immigration and offices on the Sister Islands.

Mr. Penn said, “Some of these offices, which are vital to making sure that different areas of the Territory maintain contact after an emergency, have been relying heavily on their mobile devices since Irma. The radio network is now much more resilient and we want to make sure that it’s accessible to those who need it ahead of the height of the Atlantic Hurricane Season.”

In addition to the new handsets, the Territory’s transmission network is poised to be improved with new or upgraded repeaters, the tower-top technology that sends signals between handsets.

“We have new a repeater to be installed on Sabbath Hill, which will improve communications between Tortola and Virgin Gorda,” Mr. Penn explained, adding that Jost Van Dyke and North Sound will also receive new repeaters, while the Challwell repeater, which facilitates communications with Anegada, is set to be upgraded.

Of the new handsets, 30 were donated by the Governor’s Office, and a further 45 were purchased with funds from the CDB Recovery and Rehabilitation Loan obtained by the Government following the impacts of 2017.

The department expects a full complement of participants for the land-based VHF Radio training course taking place today July 30 and Wednesday, July 31. Further radio training sessions are scheduled for select Government departments in August.

The VHF Radio Network is a critical component of the National Multi-Hazard Alert System managed by the DDM.

Countries: Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Myanmar

Risks: River floods, urban floods, earthquakes, tropical storms, cyclones, landslides

Area of Engagement: Promoting resilience to climate change; Strengthening hydromet services and early warning systems; Deepening financial protection

In a region with a long tradition of coping with extreme water and weather variability, the Japan-World Bank DRM Program* supported disaster risk reduction, risk financing, and hydrometeorological systems and laid the foundation for a new disaster risk insurance facility.

REGIONAL CHALLENGES CALLING FOR A REGIONAL APPROACH

Despite a long tradition of coping with water and weather variability, floods, droughts and extreme weather events remain a serious challenge in the Southeast Asia region. Its ability to manage the increasing impact of disasters will have important implications on growth and development agendas.

Cambodia faces a variety of hazards, with floods, storms and droughts as the most prevalent. Typhoon Ketsana in 2009, as well as pervasive floods in 2011 and 2014, caused damages and losses of $132 million, $625 million, and $357 million, respectively. Roads are a particularly vulnerable yet critical sector for the economy and country’s growth.

Lao PDR experienced major typhoons in 2009 (Ketsana) and in 2011 (Haima), and severe flooding in 2013. Most recently in 2018, floods across the country caused $371.5 million in damages and losses, making it the most expensive disaster in the past 10 years. A large share of Lao PDR’s population is considered highly vulnerable to disaster impacts.

Cyclone Nargis was one of the worst disasters to hit Myanmar, causing large loss of lives and destruction. More recently, severe floods and landslides in 2015 are estimated to have caused production losses to the economy in 2015-16 of about 1.7 percent of 2014 GDP. Myanmar’s vulnerability is exacerbated by rapid and unplanned development, especially in cities.

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR RESILIENT INVESTMENTS

Recognizing the links between development, sustainability, and resilience in Southeast Asia, the Japan-World Bank DRM Program provided a $2.5 million grant for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar with the goal to help identify strategic investments and opportunities in disaster risk reduction, risk financing, and hydro-meteorological systems.

This grant pursued a multi-level approach to strengthen disaster and climate resilience at both the national and regional levels through analytics, advisory services, and capacity-building. The grant focused on priority country investments as well as activities which could improve regional collaboration on financial resilience and hydrometeorological services.

In Cambodia, analytics were used to examine opportunities to improve resilience of rural roads across different provinces including the use of green infrastructure solutions. In Lao PDR, analysis of benefits of investing in hydrometeorological services was conducted, accompanied by a policy note on opportunities to strengthen hydrometeorological services in the Mekong region. In Myanmar, a structural risk assessment of selected public facilities in Yangon was supported with concept drawings for seismic retrofitting. Priority drainage and flood risk management investments were also identified.

LESSONS LEARNED

Importance of analytics for decision making This program demonstrated that quality information is critical in being able to identify and prioritize investments to strengthen disaster resilience. Through analytics and knowledge exchanges, policy makers have been exposed to a range of tools and methodologies available to improve their understanding of disaster risk, and planning, implementing and maintaining their investments into resilience.

Understanding potential benefits of regional collaboration in hydromet services Regional collaboration can bring many benefits to the delivery of national weather, climate and hydrological services. Integration of the region’s hydromet systems provides opportunities to lower required investment while increasing accuracy of forecasts.

The grant contributed to the discussion and improved understanding of common challenges and opportunities which can inform future investments in this field.
Innovative regional solutions can provide an additional layer of financial protection This grant helped to lead the dialogue on financial resilience regionally, laying the groundwork to support the preparation of the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF). As part of this dialogue, a regional technical working group on disaster risk finance and insurance has been established and meets regularly on an annual basis. The creation of this catastrophic insurance pool will be the first of its kind in South East Asia.