Enduring geohazards in the Caribbean: moving from the reactive to the proactive

Serwan MJ Baban, Southern Cross University

Abstract

Landslides and flooding in the Caribbean are destructive, endemic forces that destroy homes, businesses and schools, cost millions of dollars annually and kill hundreds of men, women and children. This book promotes a holistic approach for managing geohazards in the region. It emphasizes a preventive, proactive approach rather than a reactive one. It demonstrates and evaluates the use of current approaches and technologies such as geographical information science, remote sensing and geographical positioning systems for managing geohazards. The book is structured in three parts: the first focuses on landslides; the second on floods; and the third on managing geohazards in small island nations including the development of early warning systems.