Caribbean states test their storm warnings under the CREWS Caribbean 2.0 programme
25 October 2026
Caribbean countries have been testing whether their weather warnings actually reach people and tell them what to do, under the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Caribbean 2.0 programme.
In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a simulated tropical storm scenario involved heavy rain, flooding, landslides, blocked roads and misinformation, and participants worked through evacuations and emergency communication.
Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines held national workshops in August 2026 on the Common Alerting Protocol and impact-based forecasting, and the Turks and Caicos Islands ran an exercise on how warnings reach the public.
Belize restored a weather radar that had failed during the hurricane season, and Jamaica is issuing map-based alerts through SmartMet and SmartAlert.
The number of countries meeting Global Basic Observing Network requirements rose from 5 to 9.
The programme supports the Early Warnings for All initiative, and related systems include the WMO Information System 2.0 and the WMO CAP Composer.
In plain words
CAP Common Alerting Protocol — A standard format that lets one warning be sent at once over radio, mobile and internet.
Impact-based forecasting Impact-based forecasting — Forecasting that says what the weather will do to people and property, not only what it will be.