News Releases

UWI-Led Webinar Highlights the Role of Evacuation Planning and Transport Systems

For Release Upon Receipt - January 13, 2026

St. Augustine


St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago – January 13, 2026 – Effective disaster preparedness ensures that roles, resources and response mechanisms are clearly defined before a disaster strikes. This was the focus of discussions at a regional webinar titled, ‘The Importance of Transportation in Disaster Management’ hosted by The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus’s, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in collaboration with TAMPER Consulting of Jamaica, a Caribbean-based consulting firm known for its work in transport, traffic safety and mobility solutions

The webinar, hosted on December 19, 2025, reinforced transportation as one of the most decisive, life-saving components of disaster management in the Caribbean. Held against the backdrop of increasingly frequent and intense climate events, with the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica as a sobering reference point, the webinar moved beyond theory to focus on actionable strategies.

Discussions centred on how the effective movement of people, emergency supplies and response personnel can determine survival, recovery and long-term resilience in small island states.

The webinar brought together regional and international experts and delivered practical, policy-relevant insights that are expected to directly inform disaster preparedness planning across the region at a time of escalating climate risk.

The session featured high-level perspectives from Ronald Jackson, Head of Disaster Risk Reduction at UNDP Switzerland; Ms. Heather Pinnock, Managing Director of Lucea Caribbean Ltd and Dr. Rae Furlonge, Managing Director of LS Systems, Trinidad and Tobago. Together, the speakers underscored the urgent need to integrate resilient, well-planned transportation systems into the core of national and regional disaster risk reduction frameworks.

A key outcome of the webinar was a clear shift in how transportation is understood within disaster management, from a passive support service to an active, strategic enabler of life-saving outcomes. Participants examined human-centred evacuation planning, highlighting the need to prioritize moving people efficiently rather than relying heavily on private vehicle use, which often leads to congestion and heightened risk during emergencies. Emphasis was also placed on sustained public education and training to ensure that evacuation and response plans are understood and effectively executed when crises occur.

Contingency planning and infrastructural resilience also emerged as critical themes. Speakers stressed the importance of redundancy through alternative routes to prevent communities from being isolated, while also recognizing the need to strengthen existing infrastructure where duplication is not feasible. Case studies, including the resilience of the Port of Kingston following a direct hurricane impact, demonstrated how strategic investment can significantly reduce downtime and accelerate recovery.

The role of data-driven preparedness was also highlighted, with vulnerability mapping, digital simulations and modelling identified as cost-effective tools to test evacuation plans, prioritize interventions and strengthen decision-making before disasters strike. Equally important was the call for stakeholder synchronization, with participants urged to operate from a unified command framework that aligns government agencies, private sector actors and communities under a shared disaster response playbook.

By advancing open dialogue and regional knowledge exchanges, the webinar is expected to foster the development of more standardized, resilient operating procedures across the Caribbean.

 

The webinar can be viewed on The UWI St Augustine YouTube channel:

 The Importance of Transportation in Disaster Management

 

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About The University of the West Indies

The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is the Caribbean’s premier higher education institution and one of only two regional universities in the world. With five campuses across the English-speaking Caribbean and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, The UWI continues to be a beacon of academic excellence, research innovation, and societal impact. Consistently ranked among the world’s best by Times Higher Education (THE), The UWI is a global leader in addressing critical challenges, including climate change, sustainability, and development.

Learn more at www.uwi.edu 

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