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  • 17 hours ago

Trinidad and Tobago faces thousands of hazard events every year — from floods to coastal erosion. But tonight, the country's ability to predict and respond to these threats has taken a major step forward. TV6's Urvashi Tiwari Roopnarine reports on a new early warning system supported by the Government of Japan and global partners.







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Transcript
00:00A stark warning from authorities.
00:02Trinidad and Tobago, like so many small island states, is increasingly exposed to natural hazards.
00:12In fact, over the last decade, this country has reported some 17,000 hazard incidents,
00:19including severe weather events, flooding, coastal erosion, earthquakes, oil spills,
00:27and the invasion of sargassum seaweed smothering our beaches.
00:33Ladies and gentlemen, these threats are real, and they are growing.
00:37Dr. Simone Titus warns these threats are real and intensifying.
00:43But there's good news.
00:44The nation's disaster risk management system is being significantly strengthened
00:48thanks to support from the government of Japan and the rollout of a multi-hazard early warning system.
00:55Conduct a comprehensive diagnostic of the country's early warning capacities.
01:02Two, develop a long-term action plan and investment roadmap
01:07for a modern, people-centered early warning system.
01:12And three, support community preparedness and engagement,
01:19ensuring that early warnings truly reach and protect every citizen.
01:25International partners say the system will ultimately ensure every citizen receives life-saving alerts.
01:32And the stakes are enormous.
01:34Globally, disasters cost countries staggering sums every year.
01:38Direct losses, as a result of disasters, are estimated at over U.S. $200 billion annually,
01:46or over $2.3 trillion when overall interrelated ecosystem costs are considered.
01:54Factoring scenarios such as increased national debt, decreased national and individual income,
02:00uninsurability, dependency on humanitarian assistance, possible credit rating downgrades,
02:06environmental destruction, and other negative trickle-down effects.
02:12The implementation of early warning systems is a key variable to protecting societies,
02:19protecting value, and the wider financial and insurance systems.
02:23Preparedness, leaders say, remains the most effective tool to reduce that impact.
02:29Everyone is aware disaster can occur anywhere at the unexpected timing and always in unprecedented form.
02:44Thus, disaster management fundamentally relies on community-based on-site efforts.
02:51It's a swift initial action being the most crucial.
02:54Because at the heart of this project is time.
02:59Time for citizens to protect their homes.
03:01Time for families to get to safety.
03:04Timely alerts allow families to evacuate early, secure their homes, and avoid dangerous areas.
03:12A few minutes of advance notice can be the difference between life and death in some cases.
03:18In a small country, such as ours, with so much interconnectivity, this kind of protection is priceless.
03:28It's a system authorities describe as priceless.
03:32Just days ago, the Green Climate Fund approved U.S. $27 million to further expand early warning capabilities
03:39in Trinidad and Tobago and Belize, underscoring global confidence in this national effort.
03:46Our Vashita Wari Rubnarain, TV6 News.
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