The economic consequences of hurricanes in the Caribbean will be one of the featured sessions at a two (2) day symposium to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Ivan in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands from September 10-11, 2014.

This session will be moderated by Mr. Yuri Chakalall, Disaster Risk Management Specialist, at the Caribbean Development Bank and is intended to focus on disaster preparedness and recovery in the financial and commercial sectors.

Presentations are also expected from a high level panel including Mr. Kenneth Jefferson, Cayman Islands Financial Secretary, Senator Winston Garraway, Parliamentary Secretary with responsibility for Information (Grenada), Ms. Seeta Paltoo, Vice President-Group Insurance Services, Cayman First and Director at Insurance Association of the Caribbean(IAC) Inc, Mr. Barrington Hibbert, a Manager, Economic Planning and Research Division, Planning Institute of Jamaica and Dr. Elvis Nurse, Director Resources Management and Administration Division, CDEMA.

Members of the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Finance and Economic Development Sector Sub-Committee will be attending the symposium. This committee has recently been established as an arm of the governance mechanism of the regional CDM Strategy and implementation programme. They will also use the opportunity of the Symposium to hold the first meeting of the committee.

The Symposium is being hosted by the Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) under the theme “After the Storm – A Retrospect of Ivan” and will also address Business Continuity and Financial Centers Commerce – Lessons learnt from Hurricane Ivan; Post Ivan Progress in Disaster Risk Management, forecasting and youth preparedness among other areas.

CDEMA is facilitating the participation of several delegates through the Comprehensive Disaster Management – Harmonised Implementation Programme (CDM-HIP) funded by United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Support has also been provided by the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF).

Hurricane Ivan impacted the Caribbean in September 2004 as a Category 5 storm on the Saffir- Simpson scale. It was one of the most powerful storms to hit the Caribbean in decades and left a trail of damage and destruction from Trinidad and Tobago to the Cayman Islands. Losses amounted to USD$3 billion and 64 persons died.

A broader examination of lessons from this event will be conducted for the three major impacted countries, Grenada, Jamaica and the Cayman, at a symposium to be held in Grenada on the 2nd and 3rd December, 2014. CDEMA is organising that event under the theme Ivan 10: Exploring Response and Recovery, Embracing Resilience