Overview: Enhancing Flood Risk Management in Jamaica

Flooding from extreme rainfall events is one of the most significant natural hazards impacting Jamaica and other small island states in the Caribbean. Over the past decade, Jamaica has experienced several major floods, resulting in considerable infrastructure damage and loss of life. With the value of social and economic assets exposed to these hazards estimated at US$18.6 billion—much of it in flood-prone areas—the increasing intensity and frequency of storms due to climate change pose a severe threat to these assets and the welfare of vulnerable communities.

Despite this pressing danger, Jamaica's current flood maps are outdated, and there has been limited public education on flood safety, leaving flood-prone communities with low adaptive capacity. To address these issues, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona implemented a project aimed at improving flood modeling, risk awareness, and adaptive capacity in vulnerable communities.

This initiative focused on the Yallahs River and the Orange River watershed in Negril, creating updated flood models that illustrate the extent of flooding and water depth in these areas. Using data from past extreme rainfall events, the project developed maps that show future flood risks, including five, ten, and twenty-five-year flood inundation scenarios for both present and future climate conditions.

Impact

This project has already achieved significant milestones in enhancing Jamaica’s flood preparedness. Key successes include:

• Updated Data: Historical flood data has been compiled and visualized, providing an updated record of flood occurrences and frequency across Jamaica.
• Improved Flood Models: New hydrological models and flood hazard maps have been created for the Yallahs and Orange River watersheds, offering a more accurate understanding of flood risks in these areas.
• Community Engagement: The project has successfully raised awareness about the impacts of climate change on flooding in the Yallahs River watershed, and surveys have been conducted to assess adaptive capacity in the Orange River area.
• Future-Proof Flood Risk Maps: Five, ten, twenty-five, fifty, and one-hundred-year flood risk maps have been developed for both watersheds, helping to predict and mitigate future flood scenarios.

The outputs from this project feed into a map-based decision-making tool that aids policymakers in developing or revising flood mitigation measures, evacuation strategies, and national disaster risk management plans. Furthermore, this tool helps communities adopt effective adaptation measures to safeguard against increasing flood risks and protect the most vulnerable populations.

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