A climate-resilient hurricane shelter capable of withstanding category five storms has been officially opened and activated on the island of Abaco in The Bahamas, marking a tri-lateral partnership involving the Bahamian and Indian governments and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Designed to endure winds of up to 200 miles per hour and accommodate as many as 800 people, the newly operational facility also functions as a community centre for year-round use. During disasters, it will serve as a critical safe space for residents of Abaco.
The shelter features solar power and water harvesting systems, disability-inclusive access points and bathrooms, an industrial kitchen, office space for emergency personnel, communications infrastructure, and outdoor areas that can be used for sporting and community activities.
The project was managed by UNDP and funded through a US$1 million grant from the India-UN Development Fund. The Bahamas’ Disaster Risk Management Authority (DRA) served as the national implementing partner, overseeing construction and mobilising an additional US$3.5 million in parallel co-financing from the Bahamian government.
Indian High Commissioner to The Bahamas, Shri Mayank Joshi, said the Abaco shelter has been selected as a global best practice under the India-led Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), a global partnership inspired by India’s own experiences with natural disasters. UNDP is a strategic partner in the initiative.
“As we hand over this facility, we celebrate not just a building but a partnership of shared values, shared challenges, and shared aspirations for a safer and more prosperous future,” Joshi said.
New Delhi noted that the project reflects the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — the belief that the world is one family — and underscores India’s solidarity with Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as well as its commitment to climate resilience and disaster preparedness.
Minister of State with responsibility for Disaster Risk Management, Leon Lundy, described the facility as a symbol of hope amid increasingly severe climate threats.
“In ordinary days, it will serve as a place of training, community meetings, skills building, and youth development. In extraordinary hours, it will become a sanctuary, a command post, a beacon of order when the winds rise and the waters push,” Lundy said.
The government said that, building on the Abaco project, the DRA plans to expand hurricane shelter coverage across other Bahamian family islands most vulnerable to storms.
UNDP Resident Representative in The Bahamas, Dr. Kishan Khoday, praised the South-South cooperation model between The Bahamas and India, supported by UNDP and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, which UNDP hosts. He said the model offers a pathway to scale up climate action.
“Category five shelters can have big impact for community resilience goals in places like The Bahamas, with scope to replicate the Abaco shelter model in other Caribbean Small Island Developing States,” Khoday said.
He noted that SIDS remain on the frontlines of the climate crisis, with 2025 setting new records in the Caribbean for storm intensity and impacts. “Ensuring a resilient recovery from disasters must include scaled-up investments to expand climate-resilient infrastructure and shelters,” he added.
UNDP said the completion of the Abaco shelter concludes its post–Hurricane Dorian resilient recovery support to The Bahamas. Meanwhile, the UNDP Multi-Country Office in Jamaica said it is scaling up climate resilience and disaster recovery efforts across the Caribbean as climate change drives more intense and frequent storms.
“2025 was one of the most powerful hurricane seasons on record, with Hurricane Melissa among three category five storms to impact the Caribbean,” UNDP said, adding that record ocean temperatures and escalating climate risks make enhanced disaster preparedness and climate resilience an urgent priority.
