therefore the main actors were police and armed forces supported by agents of the state who are accountable to the chief executive of the country. Even to this day a number of National Disaster Offices (NDO’s) across the region are under the supervision of retired military officers. The trend of ad hoc response continued until catastrophic flood rains in 1979 devastated the western section of the island of Jamaica. One of the lessons of this landmark event throughout the Caribbean was the recognition of the need to establish a specialized agency to coordinate disaster management. Thus, in 1980, the Government of Jamaica established “Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Relief Coordination (ODIPERC)” under the Prime Minister’s Office. On the contemporary international scene “United Nations Disaster Relief Organization (UNDRO)” started to assist disaster stricken countries. In the early 1980’s Caribbean governments recognized the critical and continuous need for a regional disaster management facility. The Conference of Ministers of Health was instrumental in the establishment of Pan Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Project (PCDPPP) in 1981. It was located in Antigua. It was through the efforts of PCDPPP and technical and financial help from a number of international donor agencies that National Disaster Offices (NDO’s) were established in the CARICOM states with their own disaster management programmes. However, in 1989 CARICOM Heads of Government decided that the region would be well served by a regional body with a broad focus on regional disaster management. This initiative paved the way for the establishment of Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) located on the island of Barbados and replacing PCDPPP. The new agency is mandated to not only coordinate disaster preparedness in the member states but also to provide rapid and coordinated relief in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The Board of Directors of CDERA consists of the heads of national disaster relief organizations of Participating States, with the Coordinator of CDERA as its Chairman. Presently, disaster management activities in the Caribbean countries are made possible through their respective national disaster offices (NDO’s) (Appendix V). The primary intervention of the CARICOM countries to natural disasters occurring in their territories is one focused on a reactive response. This is reflected by the designated names of regional and national disaster offices (NDO’s) across the Caribbean islands (Appendix V). Jamaica provides a good example. Since its establishment in 1980, Jamaica’s national disaster agency has gone through several name changes and also changes in its parent government ministries: Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Relief Coordination (ODIPERC), Office of Disaster Preparedness (ODP), Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency R.Ahmad
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