In 2009, the Caribbean Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) gave PlanFWD Kathleen Imhoff a chance to put her problem-solving expertise to the test: she was contracted along with her colleagues at Alerting Solutions, Inc. to assist in the creation of coastal emergency protocols for a coalition of 18 countries. Over the next twelve months, Kathleen spearheaded intense collaboration with a multi-national team to conceive, vet and implement the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System, a process that provides life-saving, step-by-step, country-specific emergency guidance for a population of nearly six million people.
It’s the kind of project that proves if you PlanFWD, no challenge is too big.
5,899,000 people served by the warning system
>100 government agencies involved
50+ acronyms for participating organizations, agencies, centers, procedures, etc
In many ways, a project like CDEMA resembles that of any organization: stakeholders must be consulted and considered, consensus must be carefully built, context is crucial, and results must be tangible.
The difference is scale and complexity. The stakeholders here are independent governments with thousands of personnel representing millions of people. The budget is severely limited and the infrastructure disjointed. There is little precedent for this kind of work, and what exists is not easily transferrable to a new locale. And the metric for success is not profit or productivity, but quite literally life or death.
Kathleen and her team started from the ground up, working hard to understand the realities of the region as well as the possibilities. They meticulously researched every angle and developed strong working relationships with decision-makers to ensure that the ultimate solution was one that was designed not for the Caribbean region, but by it. The Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System is now recognized globally as a model for emergency best practices.
Though implementation is still in process, practical application has already proven promising. Mere days after the final report was delivered, a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. Per the newly established protocol, the team on the ground issued its first tsunami warning. Even with a decimated infrastructure, agency officials reported that the procedures were executed successfully.