{ "title": "Dominica Develops Resilience", "publication": "IMF News, November 4, 2021", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience/index.md", "summary": "

The island nation of Dominica, home to some of the Caribbean’s most breathtaking natural beauty, lies smack in the middle of Hurricane Alley.

", "authors": [ "Steven Dorst November" ], "publishDate": "2021-11-04", "sections": [ { "heading": "Context and climate risk", "content": "- Dominica is described as lying \"smack in the middle of Hurricane Alley.\"\n- The country has a rugged topography with dense mountain rain forests and nine active volcanoes.\n- Most of the country’s 72,000 denizens live along the coast—vulnerable to strong winds, high seas, and landslides.\n- The situation has become increasingly volatile with the growing frequency and severity of extreme climate events." }, { "heading": "Impact of Hurricane Maria and economic costs", "content": "- In 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Maria caused widespread destruction:\n - Whole communities, government buildings, roads and bridges, and power and water services were damaged or destroyed.\n - The storm resulted in the loss of lives and $1.2 billion in damage in just a few hours.\n- After Maria, Dominica faced damages totaling 226 percent of GDP.\n- Rebuilding to climate-resilient standards would cost 25 percent more than traditional methods.\n- Benefits from resilience investments materialize only over time, complicating financing decisions." }, { "heading": "Response, strategy, and visible benefits", "content": "- Post-Maria priorities shifted to \"building back better\" and becoming a more resilient nation.\n- The IMF worked with Dominica to:\n - Understand the probability and intensity of natural disasters.\n - Assess the costs and benefits of building to new resilience standards.\n- The government launched a framework and strategy aiming to make Dominica the world's first nation resilient to hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.\n- Examples demonstrating the business case for resilience:\n - The airport, inoperable after 2015 Tropical Storm Erika, was operational a few days after Hurricane Maria due to prior resilience measures.\n - Communities rebuilt to new resilience standards remained intact after the storm." }, { "heading": "Priority investments and measures", "content": "- Efforts are focused on:\n - Upgrading and expanding the road network, including making bridges higher to allow for water and debris overflow.\n - Building resilience into the housing sector.\n - Upgrading hospitals and health centers.\n - Supporting resilient agriculture for food security.\n - Education, reforestation, and community preparedness training." }, { "heading": "Equity and international implications", "content": "- Dominica, as a small island state that did not cause global warming, is suffering consequences and bearing adaptation costs disproportionately.\n- The government and Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica emphasize that international support is needed: \"If we want to make a meaningful contribution to helping small states adapt to climate change, then the international community needs to step up.\"" }, { "heading": "Attribution", "content": "- By Steven Dorst, November 4, 2021. This article first appeared in the most recent issue of Finance & Development Magazine produced in conjunction with COP26.\n\nSource: Dominica Develops Resilience (IMF News).\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus\n- PRESS CENTER\n- Finance & Development Magazine\n- Dominica and the IMF\n- Dominica’s Disaster Resilience Strategy\n- Regional Economic Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean, October 2021\n- and the cost of adapting\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: Steven Dorst November", "Published: November 4, 2021", "Dominica is described as lying \"smack in the middle of Hurricane Alley.\"", "The country has a rugged topography with dense mountain rain forests and nine active volcanoes.", "Most of the country’s 72,000 denizens live along the coast—vulnerable to strong winds, high seas, and landslides.", "The situation has become increasingly volatile with the growing frequency and severity of extreme climate events.", "In 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Maria caused widespread destruction:", "After Maria, Dominica faced damages totaling 226 percent of GDP.", "Rebuilding to climate-resilient standards would cost 25 percent more than traditional methods.", "Benefits from resilience investments materialize only over time, complicating financing decisions.", "Post-Maria priorities shifted to \"building back better\" and becoming a more resilient nation.", "The IMF worked with Dominica to:", "The government launched a framework and strategy aiming to make Dominica the world's first nation resilient to hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.", "Examples demonstrating the business case for resilience:", "Efforts are focused on:", "Dominica, as a small island state that did not cause global warming, is suffering consequences and bearing adaptation costs disproportionately.", "The government and Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica emphasize that international support is needed: \"If we want to make a meaningful contribution to helping small states adapt to climate change, then the international community needs to step up.\"", "By Steven Dorst, November 4, 2021. This article first appeared in the most recent issue of Finance & Development Magazine produced in conjunction with COP26.", "[https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus](https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[Finance & Development Magazine](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/index.htm)", "[Dominica and the IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/DMA)", "[Dominica’s Disaster Resilience Strategy](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2021/08/11/Dominica-Disaster-Resilience-Strategy-463663)", "[Regional Economic Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean, October 2021](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/WH/Issues/2021/10/21/Regional-Economic-Outlook-October-2021-Western-Hemisphere)", "[and the cost of adapting](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2021/09/climate-change-what-is-mitigation-and-adaptation-behsudi-basics.htm)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2021/10/27/na110221-dominica-develops-resilience/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-26T00:43:59.334Z" }