United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

08 July 2008 - From 08 to 11 July 2008, more than 60 participants from Caribbean attended a UN-SPIDER workshop on Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management in the Caribbean region. The workshop brought together disaster managers from civil protection agencies, satellite technology and remote sensing experts, representatives from UN agencies and other institutions working in the region to discuss how satellite-based information and technology can improve disaster management. "Satellite-based information already plays an important role in the Caribbean for early warning and damage assessment but we have not yet fully utilized its great potential for disaster preparedness and risk reduction" says David Stevens, the UN-SPIDER coordinator. The Caribbean is regularly hit by hurricanes and tropical storms but volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods and landslides also constitute important hazards in the region. Additional information on the workshop can be found here.