the national vulnerability ranking index tool

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) as the National Disaster Office (NDO) has the responsibility to provide Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) functions to the nation and to coordinate national response to disasters.  DRR is a dynamic function, which includes the identification of disaster threats, risks, and vulnerabilities throughout the country and the formulation of plans/ initiatives to reduce these vulnerabilities to build a disaster resilient nation.  To better coordinate response to disasters, it is imperative that comprehensive and scientific means are applied to identify hazard vulnerabilities to sectors and communities and maximize the efficient use of resources for response and recovery.

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The devastating impacts of hazards have been exacerbated among Jamaican vulnerable populations characterized by either one or more negative physical, social, economic, and environmental conditions within communities.   Climate research has shown that impacts from hydro-meteorological events are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity as witnessed in the intense storm activities of the Atlantic hurricane season 2020 with the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season as the most active on record thus far.

According to the Country Disaster Risk Profile for Jamaica by the World Bank (2016), the Annual Average Loss (AAL) from hurricanes is US$ 67.3M (0.5% GDP).  Though the percentage is small, there was significant damage and financial losses each year. Due to the high levels of vulnerability, there is a broad recognition of the need to strengthen capacity for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and to integrate Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures into developing pathways towards safe, resilient, and sustainable communities and thus to overall resilience as a nation.  

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In the year 2020, there was the emergence of the COVID19 for which national response is ongoing and Jamaica also incurred damages from severe weather events including Tropical Storm Laura, Tropical Storm Delta, Tropical Storm Zeta and Tropical Storm Eta in the amount of two (2) billion dollars JMD. There was significant damage to transport, infrastructure, the agricultural sector, and housing. The resulting cumulative impacts from a pandemic and severe weather events have exposed more complex vulnerabilities to be measured for a more accurate picture of community and sector vulnerabilities at all levels. 

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The Vulnerability Ranking Methodology was first developed by the ODPEM in 2009 where the vulnerability of communities could be ranked. The primary limitation of the methodology was the availability of data and an inadequate number of indicators to measure community vulnerability.  In 2018, the ODPEM in partnership with the Resilient Islands Project  facilitated an updating of the existing Vulnerability Ranking Methodology into a Vulnerability Ranking Index developed in 2019. The 2019 version of the VRI tool had a total of forty-six (46) indicators and was used to rank and prioritize eight vulnerable coastal communities for the Resilient Islands Project. 

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The ODPEM recognized the need to re-scope the existing VRI into a National Vulnerability Ranking Index (NVRI) for Jamaica that will include wide cross-section of indicators for identification and assessment of more variables/factors for assessing vulnerability and addressing multi-hazard vulnerability across sectors and communities including public health issues surrounding pandemics which is a present reality in Jamaica. The continued response to the COVID19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities not previously considered and an updating of the tool will allow for the additional indicators to determine community and sector vulnerability to multiple hazards. The revised VRI tool will function as a national tool that can be accessed at varied levels by key stakeholders and the general public.   The re-scoping will allow for more in-depth analyses aligned to national, regional, and international reporting requirements. 

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To facilitate the revision of the tool into the NVRI, the ODPEM has sought the approval of the JRC and Resilient Islands Project for an extension of the existing consultancy for a period of ten (10) months for the updating of the NVRI database and Tool.

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This extension has allowed for partnerships for the development of an interactive online platform and a database to support this platform for the NVRI Tool. This database forms one of th components of the overall NVRI Tool.  It performs as the main data entry point for the Tool for all indicators for the various communities across the island.  This database will be managed by the ODPEM and periodically operated to analyze the vulnerability trends across the island overtime.  The database will be housed in the Mitigation Planning and Research division within the ODPEM with sole administrative access.  The data will be accessed by a multiple stakeholders who will have varying access levels and can use the information for various resilience building initiatives, capacity building and vulnerability reduction projects.  

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