Caribbean meteorological, disaster management and media leaders met in Trinidad and Tobago on January 20-21 to strengthen coordination and communication around early warning systems across the region.
The Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO), in partnership with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), convened the ‘Regional Workshop on strengthening knowledge exchange and mutual understanding between national meteorological and hydrometeorological services, national disaster risk management offices, and the media’. The event was held under Phase 2 of the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Caribbean Project, implemented by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The two-day workshop took place at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad in Port of Spain and brought together more than 60 participants from across the Caribbean. Attendees included senior representatives from meteorological services, disaster management agencies, government information services and public and private media organizations.
The workshop focused on improving how early warning information is communicated so that warnings lead to timely and effective action, particularly for vulnerable and last-mile communities. Discussions emphasized the importance of coordination across institutions to ensure that warnings are clear, trusted and acted upon.
Opening the event, the Honorable Barry Padarath, minister of public utilities and minister in the office of the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, highlighted the role of meteorological services in public safety, saying weather services “must afford families, businesses and public services the most possible time to ensure safety before adverse weather … so that everyone everywhere is protected through multihazard warning systems.”
CMO coordinating director Dr Arlene Laing encouraged participants to collaborate across professional and institutional boundaries. She called on attendees to share experiences to “strengthen the systems that ensure early warnings are not only issued, but clearly authorized, trusted and acted upon, across the Caribbean.”
The workshop featured expert-led panels, case studies and interactive group exercises examining communication across the early warning value chain. Topics included institutional roles and responsibilities, human factors in decision-making, broadcast and publishing practices, and strategies for addressing misinformation and disinformation during hazardous events.
Participants also worked on developing practical communication tools, including message templates that can be used before, during and after extreme weather events. These tools are intended to help ensure consistent messaging and clear guidance for the public.
Key priorities identified during the workshop included improving the speed and consistency of information dissemination through coordinated, multi-channel communication; strengthening trust-based relationships between meteorological services, disaster agencies and the media ahead of emergencies; and creating simple, ready-to-use messages with clear recommended actions.
The discussions also emphasized the need to advance impact-based forecasting, use culturally appropriate language, and design early warnings that support early action rather than focusing solely on emergency response.
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