Climate-fueled disasters including hurricanes, floods, wildfires and volcanic eruptions have displaced millions of people across the Caribbean over the past decade, growing in intensity and frequency to put unprecedented pressure on regional disaster response systems. As crises have mounted, response teams and policymakers have repeatedly highlighted a critical gap: the absence of consistent, reliable data on population displacement that would allow for more effective emergency action, long-term recovery and reduction of future loss of life and property.
To address this pressing gap, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) brought together representatives from National Disaster Offices and cross-regional disaster management partners for a two-and-a-half day regional workshop hosted in Barbados this past April. Held from 23 to 24 April, the gathering focused on strengthening regional capacity to collect, analyze and deploy displacement data to support faster, more equitable disaster response.
By the close of the workshop, participants had made notable progress toward developing a regionally harmonized Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for displacement data management, designed to align with the existing Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA) framework developed by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). Once finalized, the standardized SOP will improve coordinated, timely response across 13 participating Caribbean states, allowing displacement data to inform both immediate emergency relief operations and long-term recovery planning.
In opening remarks, Barbados’ Minister of Home Affairs and Information Gregory Nicholls emphasized the human-centered core of the initiative, noting, “For Barbados, the guiding principle is simple. Families first.” Nicholls explained that robust, well-organized data allows first responders to locate displaced families faster, match aid to actual on-the-ground needs, and uphold the dignity of displaced people even when emergency systems are stretched beyond capacity. “Displacement data must always serve people and not processes,” he said.
Over the course of the workshop, participants gained hands-on training with a suite of specialized tools and digital platforms built for displacement data management. These included IOM’s own Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) and Shelter Portal, as well as KoboToolbox, a platform designed for rapid field data collection during emergencies. Participants also explored geospatial and satellite-enabled tools including the Copernicus Emergency Management Service and MapAction, which strengthen capacity for mapping displacement, conducting analysis and planning response efforts.
Discussions drew heavily on lessons learned from recent major disasters across the region, including Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa. Findings from CDEMA’s After Action Reviews following these storms, paired with national-level experiences from across the region, confirmed a widespread set of unmet needs: improving pre-disaster baseline population data, standardizing definitions of displacement and shelter types across borders, and streamlining data flows between shelters, emergency operations centers and national management systems.
Patrice Quesada, IOM’s Coordination Officer for the Caribbean and Chief of Mission for Barbados, framed the initiative as a critical shift toward proactive rather than reactive disaster management. “Preparedness is about learning from experience,” Quesada said. “It is really about anticipating the next storm, not just responding to the last one. For that, we need to share experience with teams of experts who can trust and support each other when the time comes.”
Participants across the region highlighted that a unified approach to displacement data will deliver tangible, practical benefits for vulnerable communities. Sashagaye Vassell, a Planning Analyst at Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, noted that Caribbean nations are disproportionately exposed to natural hazards and home to large numbers of at-risk people. “With this SOP, Caribbean states can better coordinate among ourselves to support the vulnerable and find targeted solutions to respond efficiently and effectively,” Vassell explained.
The workshop also openly addressed persistent challenges that have long hindered support for displaced populations across the region. Livingston Pemberton, National Disaster Coordinator at Saint Kitts and Nevis’ National Emergency Management Agency, pointed to unregistered displaced people as one of the most common barriers to effective aid. “Sometimes displaced persons are not registered, making it very difficult to reach out to them,” Pemberton said. “If you are not able to capture them within the system, it is very difficult to render the assistance that they need.” He added that the new SOP directly solves this gap by clearly defining terminology, establishing a standardized methodology for capturing and analyzing displacement data, and streamlining information sharing between national and regional response mechanisms, allowing teams to support displaced people and restore normalcy much faster after a disaster.
Participants also placed strong emphasis on the need for ethical, inclusive, people-centered data collection practices that account for the diverse needs of affected communities. Yemi Knight, founder of AnchorBridge Environmental Inc., noted that data collectors must prioritize cultural sensitivity when engaging with disaster survivors. “A person has just gone through a disaster, and you may meet different types of people, so you have to have the cultural sensitivity to interact with them,” Knight said.
Discussions also expanded to address the broader social impacts of displacement that go far beyond emergency shelter. Simon Alleyne, a participant in the workshop, noted that displacement support requires more than just rebuilding housing. “It is also ensuring that they can be reintegrated into society, including access to employment and their rights as citizens,” Alleyne said.
The scale of the displacement challenge across the Caribbean underscores the urgency of this work. Official estimates show that between 2012 and 2021 alone, disasters triggered 5.14 million new cases of internal displacement across the region. In just the past five years, 2.6 million people have been affected by floods, storms, wildfires and volcanic activity, highlighting the growing complexity of disaster management across the Caribbean.
Funded by EU Humanitarian Aid as part of the broader Resilient Caribbean project, the workshop represents a major milestone in building data-driven disaster management systems across the region. In the coming months, follow-up activities will focus on building sustained capacity for National Disaster Offices through targeted training in data collection and analysis, vulnerability assessments, disaster response simulation exercises, and specialized training in Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) and other core preparedness areas.
These collective efforts aim to build a more coordinated, prepared and resilient Caribbean, better positioned to protect vulnerable communities and save lives when future disasters strike.