Cayman suffers minimal damage from Delta

(CMC): The Cayman Islands suffered minimal damage following the recent passage of Hurricane Delta.

According to reports from disaster assessment teams, damage to housing stock turned out to be minimal and there was no significant flooding inland.

The  teams that  evaluated damage to government and other buildings and facilities in each district of the territory, found just a few areas where waves impacted the coastal shoreline.

According to the director of Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI), Danielle Coleman the unit  recently trained teams from the Department of Planning, Public Works Department (PWD) and members of the Community Emergency Response Teams located in every district in the use of  geographical information systems software purchased last year.

She noted that this technology coupled with mobile phones allowed team members at the National Emergency Operations Centre to view information on an electronic map of the island, as it was being entered by the teams.

“Going forward it is our intention to deploy community responders alongside our trained assessors to help provide comprehensive live updates, that will enable decision-makers back at the National Emergency Operations Centre to act based on an optimal understanding of how a disaster has impacted the community.”

She added that this latest exercise helped to demonstrate that Cayman is increasingly well-prepared for more serious disasters, as it adapts and improves its response.

 The Department of Planning and PWD teams are part of the Damage and Economic Assessment Emergency Support Team.

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