When a disaster related to a natural or health hazard occurs in the region, humanitarian response capacities must be ready. To respond urgently to the vital and immediate needs of the affected populations, it is essential to be able to deploy human, material and organizational resources efficiently. To do this, it is important to be based as close as possible to the areas at risk so that they can be mobilized quickly in the event of a disaster, even when access routes are cut off and the arrival of international aid is hampered. Thus, the strengthening of local disaster management capacities is essential and constitutes a priority for PIRAC’s action.

Thus, PIRAC intervenes in two ways to respond to disasters in the region:

Strengthening the capacities of local actors to respond to disasters in their territory
Deploying specific emergency operations when the capacities of local actors are overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster

In order to respond effectively and rapidly to emergencies, PIRAC has two warehouses based in Guadeloupe and Martinique as well as a storage area in French Guiana.

This regional network allows us to set up response methods adapted to each emergency, according to the needs on the ground and the existing transport vectors depending on the impacted area. It also guarantees an operational response capacity in the event that a pre-positioning site is itself affected by a major disaster.

La PIRAC gère ainsi le pré-positionnement de biens de premières nécessités dans les îles et les zones les plus isolées : kits d’abris d’urgence et de reconstruc­tion, bâches, kits nettoyage, kits hygiènes, kits cuisine, moustiquaires, jerricans pour le stockage d’eau à domicile, etc.

When necessary, PIRAC deploys professional teams, both salaried and volunteer, specialized in the implementation of humanitarian operations (coordination, water/sanitation, emergency distribution, logistics, etc.).

The deployment of teams from the area, who are fully aware of Caribbean cultural realities, is an essential asset for an effective emergency response. In case of major disasters (Haiti 2010 earthquake, Hurricane Irma 2012, etc.), the French Red Cross may be called upon to reinforce the regional response by deploying Emergency Response Teams, a pool of specialized emergency volunteers able to be deployed in support of operations throughout the world.

Over the period 2021-2025, PIRAC will continue to develop emergency response teams in the Caribbean and deploy them in support of emergency operations in the region.

AN EFFECTIVE CIVIL-MILITARY HUMANITARIAN PARTNERSHIP

Deploying humanitarian goods in the Caribbean region is often a complex logistical challenge due to the isolation of certain territories and the fragility of port and airport infrastructures that are sometimes affected. PIRAC has an essential humanitarian partnership with the French Forces, which has made it possible to deploy emergency stocks very quickly by air or sea in the first few days following disasters.

In order to strengthen these crucial cooperative relationships, PIRAC organizes seminars on civil-military relations so that each party integrates the humanitarian principles that must underlie its actions.