Trinidad and Tobago resilience profile

This profile summarizes the resilience situation in Trinidad and Tobago. The two-island country boasts a strong industrial economic base and a large contribution to its gross domestic product from its petroleum-based energy sector. The country is slightly south of the Caribbean’s hurricane belt, but still experiences droughts, earthquakes, flooding, and landslides. Coastal erosion also has negative impacts on Trinidad’s communities and Tobago’s tourism. While public institutions around disaster and emergency management are strong, the country lacks an updated legal framework through which to operate.

The report finds that the country has multiple draft disaster-related policies in place that align with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency's comprehensive disaster management framework but the primary piece of legislation governing disaster management does not address disaster mitigation or reduction of current or future risks. Several initiatives also bolster the technical capacity across the twin island state but lacks a nationwide multi-hazard early warning system. The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) produces materials and leads countrywide programs to engage communities, families, and even the business sector in disaster preparedness and mitigation but response capacity at the community level can be challenging to manage due to the lack of volunteers and financial support. The downturn in Trinidad and Tobago’s economy due to the recent decrease in oil prices also reduced budgetary allocations across the government, including for ODPM.