IOM ready to support 1,000 families as hurricane season begins

As the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins, the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) is reporting significant steps to ensure its preparedness to support emergency response efforts throughout the Caribbean in the event of a disaster.

With a history of active work alongside local and regional disaster management agencies, and with global expertise in responding to disasters and displacements, IOM in a release said it is prepared to play its part if any major event occurs in the Caribbean.

The recently inaugurated Caribbean Logistics Hub in Barbados has become a pillar of IOM’s emergency preparedness, with the World Food Programme (WFP) partnering in logistics support. IOM said it currently has emergency supplies in stock at The Hub, to improve the safety and dignity of up to 1,000 families. Items include solar lights, water containers, kitchen sets, home repair supplies and tents. This vital capacity has been made possible through the generous support of partners such as the EU’s Directorate-General for Civil

Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), a longstanding contributor to disaster response efforts in the Caribbean. ECHO has also committed support to distribute these supplies in the event of a disaster.
Since 2024, IOM has been co-leading the Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items Working Group under the coordination of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). This working group brings together national disaster agencies, humanitarian organizations, and private sector partners to provide support, upon request, to the Caribbean Community-CARICOM- Member States, focusing on families whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.

Coordinator for IOM Caribbean, Patrice Quesada notes that improved coordination with CDEMA is one of the most significant results of relocating IOM’s Caribbean Office to Barbados.

“We are pleased that the decision taken in 2022 to establish the IOM Caribbean Coordination Office in Barbados has certainly borne fruit, allowing much closer coordination with CDEMA and other UN agencies, and contributing greatly to the UN’s joint response to Hurricane Beryl in 2024. The lessons we learned allow us to continue improving the way we work, in the interest of saving lives and protecting people on the move
due to hurricanes or other disasters in the region.”

IOM has also consistently invested in upskilling public servants and community leaders in Emergency Shelter Coordination and Management, working with local and regional disaster management mechanisms. This year, 20 additional instructors from government and local organizations will be equipped with the latest tools to support emergency shelter operations throughout the region.

Emergencies demand immediate response, and IOM said it is continuing to build a network of partner organizations across the Caribbean, and to support them to become partners in response efforts. This network will play a vital role in emergency response and provide a crucial two-way communication link between IOM and communities across the region. Any local or regional civil society organization interested in being part of this network, should contact IOM Caribbean (https://www.iom.int/caribbean).
As the 2025 Hurricane season sets in, IOM said it continues to espouse national, community, household, and individual preparedness, to prevent loss of life and property.