By Sophie Hares

The chance of a deadly Caribbean hurricane clashing with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic remains slim but many countries are bracing for a two-tier crisis as they grapple with complicated logistics, limited resources and scant supplies.

Training rescuers, increasing medical capacity and sourcing protective equipment are among the major challenges for the Caribbean, where a sharp drop-off in tourism and trade has dealt a heavy blow to many cash-strapped countries.

"The biggest concern is going to be resource availability to deal with the COVID crisis and the implication it will have for the upcoming hurricane season", said Ronald Jackson, executive director of the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

As the COVID-19 curve flattens, there are still likely to be numerous cases in the Caribbean where hurricane season contingency planning and "dress rehearsals" are being affected by the pandemic, experts said.

"The big spike of COVID 19 in the region is going to be from the middle of April to middle of May… the hurricane season is coming in June", said Walter Cotte, Americas regional director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

"Maybe we will have a gap between them and we will have opportunities to be better prepared. But if this does not happen and there is an overlap between COVID and the hurricane season, it's going to be more critical", he added.

DUTY OF CARE

Emergency rescue response is likely to be hit hard by the virus, he said, as people become infected they need to look after relatives at home or are unwilling to go into disaster areas without sufficient protective equipment.

Cotte estimates just 10-20 percent of responders would now be properly equipped and trained to rescue people in an emergency.

Efforts are underway to make sure around 30 percent of responders are trained and equipped, but a global run on emergency protective equipment is pushing up prices and making it hard to find sufficient supplies for people on the frontline, he said.

"There is no way to do just rescue without duty of care, it's a double responsibility now", he said. 

Additionally, quarantine restrictions could restrict international rescuers from reaching a disaster area, said CDEMA's Jackson, suggesting countries consider calling on the private sector to provide volunteers to help in an emergency.

The already tricky logistical task of reaching hurricane-hit areas is also likely to be further complicated by COVID, warned Cotte, highlighting the challenge in reaching the Bahamas, Barbuda and Dominica after recent devastating storms.