Cuba a Good Model for Disaster Preparedness

Thousands of people needlessly perished in the December 24, 2004 tsunami due to lack of disaster preparedness. The absence of national plans to deal with disasters cost many lives. "Cash-strapped governments…simply don’t have the resources to create disaster preparedness plans, communications networks, evacuation plans, and disaster recovery programs," said Chris Hufstader in his December 29, 2004 article Disaster Planning Essential for Minimizing Risks, www.oxfamamerica.org. So is it a hopeless case? Are poor countries doomed to lose many lives that could be saved when a disaster strikes? Actually, there is a poor country which is a model in disaster preparedness. It is Cuba. When hurricanes strike, many people die needlessly in other Caribbean countries, while Cuba loses few lives. Even the poorest of its citizens are protected.

Oxfam studied Cuba’s disaster prevention and mitigation plan and prepared a report entitled Weather the Storm: Lessons in Risk Reduction in Cuba. Hufstader noted in his article that certain features of Cuba’s plan outlined in the report can be used elsewhere:

Disaster Preparedness: Cuba was especially good at mobilizing entire
communities to develop their own disaster preparations. This involves mapping
out vulnerable areas of the community, creating emergency plans, and actually
simulating emergencies so people can practice evacuations and other measures
designed to save lives. When disaster strikes, people know what to do.

Commitment of Resources: Cuba’s strong central government prioritizes
resources for its civil defense department. This helps the country to build up a
common understanding of the importance of saving lives, and the citizens trust
that their contributions to the government are well used for this purpose. Their
collaboration on developing emergency plans helped build confidence in the
government, so people trust in the plan they helped develop.

Communications: The communications system for emergencies in Cuba
builds on local resources. Using local radio stations and other media to issue
warnings on potential hazards also reinforces the disaster preparations. Since
the local population is already involved in mapping risks and creating emergency
plans, they are more inclined to act on emergency bulletins. Good
communications, packaged simply, and build on existing, commonly used resources,
is another way to build trust in disaster preparations.

There are a couple of drawbacks to using Cuba as a model. For one thing, Cuba has a strong central government. Also, Cuba suffers from hurricanes, a disaster that can be predicted days in advance. Still, strong community leadership and organization of the population always help. Hufstader cites an example of how everyone in a town in El Salvador survived flooding with their own strong local disaster plan.

I noted a variation of this during the aftermath of the tsunami. It appeared that villages where there was a strong oral tradition passed down that the population should head for the hills immediately when they felt an earthquake saved a much higher percentage of their members.