We are kicking off our Caribbean Open Data for Resilience (OpenDRI) Webinar Series on Wednesday, March 26 at 2:30 pm ET! This webinar, Data for Post-Disaster Decision-Making in Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, will focus on the Rapid Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLA) conducted in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the rapid disaster impact needs assessment conducted in Saint Lucia following the heavy rains that occurred on December 25, 2013. Panelists will discuss the regional and national response to the disasters and the availability and use of spatial data in conducting assessments for disaster recovery and reconstruction.
For webinar access and panelists’ bios, please see the Caribbean OpenDRI Community collaboration site.
Webinar Details
Panelists:
· Cecil Harris – Sr. Engineer Consultant, Ministry of Finance, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
· Marco Rodriguez – Sr. Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank, LCSDU
· Melanie Harris – PhD Candidate, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
Host:
· Bishwa Pandey – Sr. Data Management Specialist, World Bank, LCSDU
Abstract:
On December 25, 2013 a tropical trough system produced heavy rains in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Saint Lucia, Dominica and Grenada. SVG and Saint Lucia both experienced intense flash flooding and landslides resulting in widespread damage to road infrastructure, electricity and water infrastructure, housing as well as public and private buildings. As part of the rapid damage and loss assessment (DaLA) process, a technical team consisting of regional agencies and the World Bank was formed to conduct the assessments, and worked in partnership with national ministries to better understand the nature of the event and its impact. A large set of data arising from different sources was used to analyze the event, including spatial data hosted on the national GeoNode, an open-source data management and sharing platform. The GeoNode was used by the technical team and national agencies in providing easy access to baseline data and storing new data collected during the assessments.
Webinar Access & Link
Topic: Caribbean OpenDRI Webinar: SLU/SVG DaLA
Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Time: 2:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)
Meeting Number: 736 268 575
Meeting Password: meeting
Panelists’ Bios
Cecil Harris is currently consulting as a Senior Engineer with the Ministry of Transport and Works in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, providing technical support in project development, implementation and management of infrastructural projects. He is primarily involved in the World Bank’s Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Projects, and also provides technical assistance to EU, CDB and other foreign funded projects. Mr. Harris is a graduate of Southampton University, UK (BSc, Civil Engineering, 1979), University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad (Post Grad Diploma, Construction Engineering and Management, 1982) and the University of London (LLB, Law, 2005).
Marco Rodriguez has been a Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Consultant in the Latin America and Caribbean Region (LAC) since 1990. During this period, he produced more than ten books on DRM issues (legal norms, methodologies, systematization and research). He was also the Academic Director of the Post Graduate DRM Program in the Andean University (Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador), and as such, promoted academic development and research on different topics in these countries. Marco lead the humanitarian response with the UN team (UNDAC) in different countries in important disasters, eg., Cuba, Peru, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala. He was a Regional Emergency Response Officer to LAC in the OCHA/NNUU. Marco received his Post-Graduate education in International Finance (Chile) and Health, Development and Disasters (Mexico) and received his Masters in Strategic Planning and Management (Bolivia).
Melanie Harris is a PhD Candidate and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus.
Ms. Harris’ Master and current PhD research reflect her keen interest in the use of GIS & Remote Sensing for disaster risk assessment and modelling. As a GIS Consultant, she has applied her expertise to various disciplines including Education, Land Management, Participatory 3D Mapping and Hazard identification and risk analysis. She is also a member of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Committee whose main objective is to synthesize public and private sector involvement to coordinate, guide and implement Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategy in the country.
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