The Netherlands is not responsible for the hurri­cane and storm preparations of the Caribbean part of the King­dom — the countries Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten, as well as the public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, are responsible for their own disaster and crisis management.

Newly-appointed State Secre­tary for Kingdom Relations and Digitisation Zsolt Szabó said this in his response to questions sub­mitted by Member of the Dutch Second Chamber of Parlia­ment MP Raoul White.

But, wrote Szabó, the Netherlands is ready to help in case of major hur­ricanes. “However, when a hurricane hits the islands – also given the small scale and dependence of the is­lands – it is foreseeable that help and assistance should be provided to support the islands.”

Szabó also writes that he is aware that the Royal Neth­erlands Meteorological In­stitute KNMI expected this year to have an “unusually active hurricane season” with 20 tropical storms and nine hurricanes predicted. “That is why all those di­rectly involved, both in the Caribbean and European parts of the Kingdom, are alert and aware of the in­creased risk,” he explained. KNMI is in close contact with the Caribbean Nether­lands to identify potential risks as early as possible and proactively share these with the islands. The coun­tries have their own meteo­rological services, but infor­mation is exchanged, Szabo said.

Together with State Secre­tary of Justice and Security Ingrid Coenradie, Szabó is working with the cri­sis partners, including the Caribbean countries and public entities, on further strengthening the response and cooperation during a disaster or crisis in the Ca­ribbean part of the King­dom.

This includes the third Week of Crisis Manage­ment, held in May, where concrete working agree­ments were made in prepa­ration for the hurricane season. “This has, among other things, led to the Tropical Cyclone Briefing in which KNMI informs the Kingdom partners, public entities and, if desired, the autonomous Carib­bean countries in a timely manner about dangerous weather conditions.”

The public entities are working on their climate plans, which will also have to provide insight into dealing with an increase in extreme weather, such as hurricanes, Szabó writes. The Dutch central govern­ment, in turn, will support Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba with additional re­sources and expertise.

For instance, The Hague has commissioned a factual report that can be used as a basis for these climate plans, in which the expected effects of climate change on the various social and eco­nomic sectors will be iden­tified. This report will also include relevant regional effects and will thus pro­vide a basis for determining where additional measures are needed, he said.

The Daily Herald.