Caribbean disaster agencies are moving to standardize how they collect and share information on people displaced by hurricanes, floods, wildfires and volcanic activity,
aiming to speed up assistance and improve recovery planning as weather-related hazards grow more
frequent and severe.
collect and share information on people displaced by hurricanes, floods, wildfires and volcanic activity,
aiming to speed up assistance and improve recovery planning as weather-related hazards grow more
frequent and severe.
Between 2008 and 2024, disasters triggered an estimated 2.61 million internal displacements across the
Caribbean (IDMC, 2026), underscoring the increasing complexity of disaster response across the region. 
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
(IDMC) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) brought together national
disaster offices from 13 CDEMA-participating states and regional partners at a two-and-a-half-day
workshop in Barbados on 21–23 April to close critical data gaps that can hinder emergency response and
longer-term recovery.
Barbados’ Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Gregory Nicholls, urged that the approach should
remain people-focused. “For Barbados, the guiding principle is simple: families first. Good data helps
responders locate families faster, match assistance with real needs, and protect dignity when systems
are under stress. Displacement data must serve people, not processes,” he said.
Funded by EU Humanitarian Aid under IOM’s Resilient Caribbean project, the workshop marks a
significant step towards strengthening data-driven disaster management systems in the Caribbean.
“Bringing systems together to track displacement after a hurricane really matters,” said Daniela D’Urso,
Caribbean Coordinator and Regional Policy Expert for European Civil Protection and
Humanitarian Aid. “It turns fragmented, often anecdotal information into clear, usable data, helping
responders act faster, support people more fairly, and plan for longterm recovery. When there is no
common approach, governments and humanitarian partners are left without a clear picture of who has
been displaced, where they are, and what they need,” she explained.
Participants developed a regionally harmonized Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for displacement
data, aligned with CDEMA’s Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA) framework. The SOPs set
out common activation triggers, roles and minimum datasets to help countries generate timely,
comparable information that can guide immediate operations and longer-term recovery and risk
reduction.

“Preparedness is about learning from experience,” said Patrice Quesada, IOM Coordination Officer for
the Caribbean and Chief of Mission for Barbados. “It is really about anticipating the next storm, not just
responding to the last one. For that, we need to share experience with teams of experts who can trust
and support each other when the time comes.”  Daniela D’Urso reinforced that “Better data enables
better protection – by improving evacuation planning, strengthening shelter management, and ensuring
that assistance reaches those most at risk, including women, children, elderlies and persons with
disabilities”.
The workshop included practical sessions on displacement data tools (DTM, IOM Shelter Portal,
KoboToolbox), geospatial and mapping services (Copernicus, MapAction), and expert inputs from the
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and CIMA Research Foundation on monitoring
displacement and integrating risk analysis into planning.
Lessons from CDEMA’s After Action Reviews following Hurricane Beryl and Hurricane Melissa informed
the SOPs, with participants calling for clearer activation triggers, stronger data protection and ethics
safeguards, and better-defined institutional responsibilities.
The procedure is intended to improve information flows between shelters, emergency operations
centres and national systems so responders can identify needs sooner and coordinate support more
effectively. A harmonized approach will also make it easier to compare information across countries
during large-scale emergencies and clarify reporting lines when multiple hazards affect the region at
once.
Sashagaye Vassell, Planning Analyst at Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency
Management, said the region’s exposure to multiple hazards makes speed and consistency essential.
“We are very prone to multiple hazards and have many vulnerable people. This SOP will help us capture
and share consistent information faster, so decision-makers can direct support where it is needed
most,” Vassell said.
In the coming months, activities will focus on building the capacity of National Disaster Offices through
data collection and analysis training, vulnerability assessments, simulation exercises and targeted
trainings in Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) and other key areas of disaster
preparedness. 
These efforts aim to support a Caribbean that is more coordinated, prepared and resilient in the face of
future disasters. 
For more information, please contact:
IOM Caribbean Communications Officer malleyne@iom.int .
Hilaire Avril, EU Aid Regional Information Officer – Latin America & Caribbean
hilaire.avril@echofield.eu