Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility makes Real-Time Forecasting System available to all members

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), a non-profit multi-country risk pooling facility providing parametric hurricane and earthquake cover to Caribbean countries, has announced that it is making its Real-Time Forecasting System available to all of its members.

As the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season gets underway the CCRIF are providing assistance to Caribbean nations by helping them to prepare for the tropical storm systems that will inevitably come their way as the season progresses. By making their Real-Time Forecasting System available to members they hope to help them prepare for disasters more effectively.

The Real-Time Forecasting System is a storm impact forecast tool which provides real-time hurricane hazard and impact information. This information can help the CCRIF’s members prepare and respond to storms by enabling evacuation decision making, planning for pre-positioning of equipment and supplies as well as contingency planning to secure critical infrastructure and operations as a storm approaches.

The Real-Time Forecasting System has been used by CCRIF members for four years and now has 146 persons registered for access which is a 60% increase over last year. The CCRIF are also providing training to members to help them make best use of the data provided by the Real-Time Forecasting System.

Dr Simon Young of the CCRIF Facility Supervisor team said, “The RTFS will no doubt enable our countries to be better prepared to manage the potential impact of the storms during this year’s Hurricane Season.”

Ms Ekhoseuhi Iyahen, of the CCRIF Facility Supervisor team and facilitator on the RTFS training course said, “Many of our members have used the RTFS and can attest to its value. In fact, when Hurricane Tomas struck CCRIF members Barbados, Saint Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines in October 2010, prior preparations using real-time storm impact forecasts from the RTFS played a positive role in reducing damage levels in these countries and also helped to minimise loss of life during the storm.”

This initiative plays a critical part in helping Caribbean nations prepare for and manage the risks of disasters. By offering this service alongside their parametric insurance products the CCRIF are enabling their members to develop a much more accurate view of the risk they face and helping them to plan for disaster effectively.