Jamaica moves to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems
Key Points(5)
- The Jamaican government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the country’s multi-hazard early warning systems as extreme weather events and other climate-related threats become increasingly frequent.
- Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change Wayne Robertson said improving the speed, clarity and reach of emergency alerts is critical to protecting communities and saving lives.
- “In the Caribbean, a warning delayed is a life put at risk.
- A warning misunderstood is a family unprepared … and a warning that never reaches the right person is a failure of the system we are all sworn to protect,” Robertson said.
- He was speaking Thursday at a two-day Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Workshop at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites in New Kingston.
The Jamaican government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the country’s multi-hazard early warning systems as extreme weather events and other climate-related threats become increasingly frequent.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change Wayne Robertson said improving the speed, clarity and reach of emergency alerts is critical to protecting communities and saving lives.
“In the Caribbean, a warning delayed is a life put at risk. A warning misunderstood is a family unprepared … and a warning that never reaches the right person is a failure of the system we are all sworn to protect,” Robertson said.
He was speaking Thursday at a two-day Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Workshop at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites in New Kingston.
The workshop forms part of regional efforts to strengthen early warning systems and improve implementation of CAP across the Caribbean. The protocol provides a standardized method for developing and distributing emergency alerts across multiple communication platforms.
The initiative is being conducted in partnership with the World Meteorological Organization and Caribbean Meteorological Organization and brings together representatives from the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), disaster risk management agencies and other stakeholders.
It also supports the United Nations’ Early Warnings for All initiative, which aims to ensure that everyone worldwide is protected by an early warning system by the end of 2027.
Pointing to Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and Hurricane Melissa in 2025, Robertson said extreme heat, flash flooding and bush fires are also becoming increasingly frequent threats, underscoring the need for an effective, people-centered multi-hazard warning system.
“By strengthening our capacity to communicate timely, clear and actionable alerts through the Common Alerting Protocol, we are directly advancing our goals of reducing disaster risks, safeguarding vulnerable communities, and supporting national climate adaptation and sustainable development,” he said.
Robertson said the Meteorological Service of Jamaica remains central to the country's early warning system, with technological improvements allowing it to provide 24-hour weather forecasting and monitoring.
However, he stressed that producing accurate forecasts is only part of an effective warning system, with communicating that information to the public equally important.
“The CAP gives us one standard message that can go out once and can be received everywhere on radio, TV, cell phones, sirens, social media, and emergency dashboards,” Robertson said. “It removes ambiguity, which is very important, and also delays.”
He said the system helps ensure that warnings issued by the Meteorological Service are consistent with those received by government ministries, schools, utility companies and residents across the country.
Robertson pledged continued investment in training and interoperability as the ministry works to make Jamaica's emergency warnings faster, clearer and more actionable.
Caribbean Meteorological Organization Science and Technology Officer Kenneth Kerr said the workshop provides an opportunity to improve coordination among the Meteorological Service, ODPEM, emergency services, health authorities, the media and other stakeholders.
Kerr said Jamaica already has a well-established CAP system within its Meteorological Service and that the workshop would provide a foundation for further improvements to impact-based forecasting and the country's Early Warnings for All initiative.
Similar CAP workshops have already been held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda.
