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Bridgetown, Barbados November 15, 2022– The CDEMA Coordinating Unit officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with U.S based Relief and Development Organization, World Hope International on November 11, 2022.

The signing occurred at the close of the weeklong Regional Search and Rescue Training (RSART) Programme, CDEMA’s first in-person disaster response training held in Barbados since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The programme was funded by the Targeted Support to CDEMA Project through Global Affairs Canada.

Bridgetown, Barbados November 8th, 2022 – The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency is hosting its first in-person regional training session since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Regional Search and Rescue Programme, Disciplined forces from Barbados and Antigua assembled at Arch Hall Fire Academy in Barbados for a week of comprehensive training, as the agency embarks on expansion of the programme to better serve its 19 Participating States.

Bridgetown, Barbados, October 31, 2022 (CDEMA) – The Chair of the Management Committee of the Council of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Ambassador Elma Gene Isaac of Saint Lucia, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig as Deputy Executive Director of the Agency with effect from January 3, 2023.

Lieutenant Colonel Craig, a National of Guyana, is a disaster risk management practitioner, with over twenty-five (25) years of military service and more than sixteen (16) years disaster management experience working with community groups, government agencies, and national, regional, and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the local government, health, security, private and environmental sectors.

After two days of in-depth exchanges of analysis, considerations, challenges, opportunities and potential strategies, the Caribbean has strengthened its partnership for the development of multi-hazard early warning systems.


On September 1 and 2, several regional and global organizations involved in supporting early warning systems in the Caribbean, as well as some NDMOs representatives from CDEMA Participating States gathered in Bridgetown, Barbados, for the Regional Early Warning SystemsConsortium (REWSC) Meeting. The Consortium, chaired by CDEMA with the support of UNDRR and CREWS, is the perfect setting to explore complementarities and enhancing existing and potential institutional arrangements aiming to increase efficiencies through stronger coordination to address early warning systems for multiple hazards.

Bridgetown, Barbados, August 28th, 2022 – The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) has a new Chairman.


He is St. Lucia’s Minister of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, the Honourable, Shawn Edward.
Minister Edward’s elevation to the role occurred during a virtual meeting of the organization’s recently concluded 9th Extraordinary Meeting of Council of Ministers on August 22, 2022, held via ZOOM.


He takes over the chairmanship from former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Justice in St. Kitts and Nevis, Mr. Vincent Byron Jr, who held the post for two years.

Bridgetown, Barbados, July 13th, 2022 - The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), have agreed to an extension of the programme period for their project: “Support to the Advancement of the Comprehensive Disaster Management in the Caribbean Region”, by one year until December 2023. 

The extension was formalized on June 15th, this year, when representatives from CDEMA and MFA signed an addendum to their 2019 agreement, effectively extending Project deadlines by 12 months.  Executive Director, Ms. Elizabeth Riley signed on behalf of CDEMA, while Ambassador at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Havana, Ms. Beate Stirø, signed for the MFA. 

Bridgetown, Barbados June 9, 2022– The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) successfully hosted an online training for its Participating States between 9th May 2022 and 3rd June 2022 in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the Caribbean region. The online training consisted of six (6) self-paced training modules, culminating in two (2) days dedicated to a simulation exercise where the participants were tested on the knowledge gained in a controlled scenario under time constrained conditions.

Bridgetown, Barbados May 25, 2022– As the 2022 Hurricane Season approaches, the CDEMA Coordinating Unit (CU) hosted its fourth annual Exercise SYNERGY virtually on May 22, 2022, to build preparedness for the potential multi-island, multi-hazard impact threat to the region. Over 50 regional and international stakeholders attended SYNERGY, a flagship regional exercise to test the coordination within the Regional Response Mechanism (RRM). 

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