Dear Editor,
The official start of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is just two weeks away. The Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecast section, the Tropical Meteorology Project (TMP), in its first 2021 prediction of storm activity for the upcoming season, says we could see 17 named storms, of these, eight could become hurricanes and four of those could reach major hurricane status of Category 3+.
The CSU TMP said in their forecast, that up to now, current weather activity is exhibiting characteristics similar to the hurricane seasons of 1996, 2001, 2008, 2011, and 2017, the latter that saw the birth of Irma and Maria which caused massive devastation across the Caribbean region.
St. Maarten is still reeling from the devastation left behind by Irma and Maria in 2017. Some of the key areas are a number of hotel infrastructure that is still down and out, and the prize and pride of the nation, the Princess Juliana International Airport rebuilding project. Despite its current challenges and operating at limited capacity, the air travel gateway, the economic lifeline for the nation, continues to serve the country.
The St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce & Industry (COCI) announced last month that there was a 27.8 percent rise in new business registration for the first quarter of 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020.
COCI registered 216 new business registrations for the months of January to March 2021, compared to 169 for the same period of 2020.
With the 2021 hurricane season weeks away, the Caribbean Chambers of Commerce (CARICHAM) is organizing a webinar session under the banner “Leveraging Business Continuity Planning to Enhance Business Resilience for the Hurricane Season and the Impact of Multi-Hazards on the Caribbean.”
CARICHAM was launched in 2019 and is a network of 21 Caribbean Chambers of Commerce with the aim to advocate and create enhanced value for members of the respective Chambers, and to enhance the resilience of members.
CARICHAM recognizes that businesses need to be prepared to face risks. “As Caribbean Small Island Developing States, our economies are even more at risk, which forces us to increase our awareness about climate change and natural disasters as well as to take action to mitigate these risks.”
The private sector of the region comprises mainly micro, small and medium-sized businesses. Risk management is a key component for business continuity and survivability.
The webinar is scheduled for Friday, May 21, from 11:00am to 12:30pm via Zoom. This Webinar is hosted in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the ARISE Network (the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies) and McAllister and Craig Disaster Management Inc.
To increase the resilience of the private sector through Business Continuity Planning, CARICHAM is inviting members of the regional business community to register for this webinar via the following link:
https://energytt.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0ofuirrjwqHt02-Vu1_FLyqNWjm4-6MaI6
This is an opportunity for the local business community to enhance their skills in disaster risk reduction, especially new businesses/entrepreneurs. The knowledge gained would play a major role and be a plus in mitigating the effects of risks to businesses especially during the upcoming 2021 Atlantic hurricane season which is forecast to be an active one.
Roddy Heyliger
