The Caribbean Disaster Management (CADM) Regional Team that comprises academic staff of UWI and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology has designed and built a Telephonic Community Flood Early Warning System. The system is designed to mitigate the impact of flash floods in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean is particularly vulnerable to flash floods as a result of its topography and rugged terrain. Flash floods have had very serious impacts on the social and economic sectors in the Caribbean. Flash floods have claimed lives in many parts of the Caribbean and are often described as the most dangerous type of floods.

This type of flooding occurs when the ground is saturated with water, either caused by intense rainfall or the collapse of a man-made structure such as a dam. In a flash flood, the runoff collects in a low-lying area and rapidly flows downhill. Flash flooding most often occurs in dry areas that have received sudden and continuous heavy rainfall, where the ground loses its capacity to absorb the water overload.

In recent years, it has become increasingly important to put measures in place to facilitate early warning of flash floods in an effort to alert potential victims for quick preparation and action.

Recognising this critical need, governments of the Caribbean through a CARICOM/Japan Technical Co-operation Agreement established the CADM Project. The project, which had a sum of US $3 million, was administered through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA). The main focus of this project was to build regional capacity for flood hazard mapping and elaborating community based approaches to flood hazard mitigation.

At the end of March 2007, the project reached a high point with the presentation of the telephonic community based early warning systems to six respective Caribbean States: Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Grenada and Dominica. A total of 50 Units were manufactured, thirty-six of which will be placed in the six countries, 10 retained at the University for demonstration purposes, and 4 sent to Japan for distribution to the South–East Asian countries. The funding for the manufacturing and distribution of the systems was provided by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The system was developed by a group lead by Dr. Jacob Opadeyi of the Department of Surveying and Land Information, Faculty of Engineering, UWI, St. Augustine in the course of its active participation in the CADM Project.

Dr. Opadeyi leads the multi-disciplinary research team that conceptualized and designed this innovative technology. The other members of the team are: Dr. Vincent Cooper (UWI, St. Augustine); Dr. Balfour Spence (UWI, Mona), and Mr. Kailas Narayan (CIMH). The research team is currently working on another version of the system that would allow for installation in remote areas using solar power energy and GSM telephone system. The team is also designing the procedure for community evacuation plan.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony in Trinidad and Tobago, Kiyoshi Takeuchi, Counsellor, at the Embassy of Japan in Trinidad and Tobago noted that the Government of Japan shares the concern of the Caribbean about the importance of being prepared for natural disasters. He reiterated, ‘the countries of the Caribbean know too well the damage caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding. One cannot negate the need for such early warning systems throughout the region, which can significantly reduce damage and loss from these disasters.”

Making reference to the success of the use of the early warning system in Japan, Mr. Takeuchi observed, “because of the early warning systems in place throughout Japan, evacuation and other disaster management plans are able to minimize the loss of life and property that can occur as a result of a natural disaster.”

The Coordinator of the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Response Agency Jeremy Collymore hailed the telephonic early warning system as “a tangible demonstration of the invaluable contribution made by the University of the West Indies to the development agenda”, stressing that he sees a role for UWI in implementing the revised Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy.

The early warning system has been introduced to Caribbean countries as part of the flood hazard mapping systems. The system will be installed in the upper catchment of a watershed where they will be used to monitor rainfall regimes and instantaneously inform responsible agencies of the potential for flooding in lower catchments.

The Early warning system provides a simple, yet cost effective measure to assist disaster mitigation and response. The Unit is designed to alert a central monitoring station by placing calls from a dedicated land-line telephone network, which will transmit tone sequences that indicate the level of rain water in the collecting container.

Residents in flood prone areas could be set at ease when the Units are installed, as they will now be able to receive early warnings about impending hazards and therefore improve their resilience and be able to evacuate in advance of the impending flood water.