This was presented on Thursday October 7th at T&TEC\'s HSE Week.

1. Capturing the relationship between our habits and the
impacts on the environment, weather, climate...
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service29/01/2015

2. Two important aspects
1. Understanding the concept of ‘Risk’
2. Examining humanity’s relationship with
the environment, specifically weather and
climate
© H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

3. What are Hazards?
 Hazards are phenomena or events that pose the
possibility of loss of life, or damage to property and
infrastructure.
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service
Examples include:
Lightning strikes, flooding,
strong gusty winds, tropical
cyclones, earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, civil
unrest or political instability,
terrorism, etc...

4. Vulnerability
 Being prone or susceptible to damage or injury
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service
Active Volcano
City

5. Risk
 The chance or possibility of loss or bad consequence
 Exposure to danger
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service
For example:
1. You’re house is
at risk of
burning;
2. We are at risk of
being flooded
out.

6. Disaster
 A sudden or great misfortune
 Calamity
 Complete failure
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

7. Disaster
 For a Disaster to have occurred human life or property
must incurred some loss.
 Disasters require Vulnerable groups
 These Vulnerable groups are at some Risk
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service
Vulnerable
people/
property
High Risk Disaster!

8. Disasters are a function of Risk
As Risk increases so does the potential for loss of lives
or damage to property in any disaster.
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

9. Meteorological hazards common to
Trinidad and Tobago
 Heavy/Intense Rainfall
 Extended Rainfall
 Strong/Gusty Winds
 Lightning Strikes
 Hurricanes
 Tropical Storms
 Storm Surges
 Dangerous Seas
 Land Erosion
 Riverine Flooding
 Flash Floods
 Landslides/Land Slips
 Mudslides
 Funnel Clouds/
Waterspouts
 Low Visibility
 Saharan Dust
 Smoke/Bush and Forest
Fires
 Any more you can think
of?
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

10. How Meteorological Hazards Affect
Us
 Can cause the loss of human lives
 Loss of property
 Damages infrastructure and communications
 Harms the economy
 Can cause social unrest/civil disobedience/lawlessness
 Breakdown of social bonds and structures
 Health problems, eg. Asthma, Pathogenic Diseases
such as Dengue Fever, Cholera, etc...
 Huge rebuilding and recovery costs
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

11. Our Relationship with the
Environment: Weather and Climate
 Very complex and iterative
 Humans depend on the environment for our
sustenance/survival – food, water, protection,
livelihoods
 However our use of the environment has direct
impacts on the way the environment expresses itself:
scenery, temperature, rainfall timing and receipts, sea
level, and many more...
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

12. Climate Change
 Climate change is the change in our weather patterns
that are occurring because of an increase in the earth's
average temperature
 Otherwise known as Global Warming
 It is said to be happening as a result of increasing
Carbon Dioxide levels in the Atmosphere...
 Carbon Dioxide that Humans have put there... ?
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

13. Is Climate Change Real? Is it our
fault?
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

14. Potential Impacts of Climate
Change
 Increasing ambient temperatures
 Rising Sea-levels and Temperatures
 Changing climate and weather patterns:
More intense rainfall events?
Drier Dry Seasons?
More Hurricane Activity?
 Threats to Water Resources
and Agriculture/Food Production
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

15. Still a Need to Minimise Risk
Utilisation
of Natural
Resources
Pollution &
Environmental
Degradation
Climate
Change
Changing
Weather
Patterns
Diminished
Resource Base
•As mentioned before
humans and the
environment have a
dynamic relationship...
•We depend on the
environment for
survival, and the
environment responds to
our actions
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

16. Minimising
Risk
Reducing
Vulnerability
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

17. How to Minimise Vulnerability?
Case Study: Trinidad 2010
Conditions:
 2010 Dry Season one of driest on record
(March 2010 driest on record)
 Northern Range was on fire for
extended periods due to indiscriminate
lighting of fires – hunters, slash & burn
agriculture, cigarettes
 Clearing of hillsides and unplanned
developments
 Many questionable “approved”
developments
 Inadequate infrastructure

18. How to Minimise Vulnerability?
Case Study: Trinidad 2010
Results: During the Dry Season
 Smoke-filled atmosphere
 Loss of forests on Northern Range
 Loss of habitats and animal life
 High daytime and night-time temperatures due to an
enhanced greenhouse effect
 Onset of Asthma, Sinuses, and other breathing difficulties
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

19. How to Minimise Vulnerability?
Case Study: Trinidad 2010
Results: During the Wet Season
 Loss of soil infiltration capacity through the loss of vegetative
cover
 High surface runoff and moderate/severe episodes of flash
flooding
 High levels of sedimentation in rivers, streams and drains,
resulting is widespread flooding
 Damage to property and infrastructure
 Loss of life (one)
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

20. Personal habits & their impact
• Deteriorated visual quality, clogged drains
• Flooding, loss of life and property, loss of wildlife,
lawlessness
Indiscriminate dumping of
plastic bottles, Styrofoam
plates/cups, tyres, appliances
• Increased surface flow of water, floods, landslips
• Loss of life and damage to property at site and
downstream, reduced resource base, damaged
infrastructure
Lighting indiscriminate fires,
clearing hillside land, farming
on steep slopes
• Reduces vegetative cover and increases surface flow,
increasing possibility of flooding, landslips, loss of
life and property, damaged infrastructure
• Poisons aquatic life, reduced drinking water quality
Building in the Hills without
permission, uncontrolled use
of pesticides/herbicides, etc
• Uses more fuel/energy, produces greater amounts of
Carbon Dioxide and other pollutants
• Enhances global warming, rising sea levels, habitat
loss, “freak” weather risk increases, lives at risk
Leaving unnecessary lights on,
running the a/c when not in
the room, driving
unnecessarily, etc

21. What do we do?
 Manage our lands more effectively – proper planning
and enforcement of policies/regulations/legislation
 Become more environmentally conscious –
indiscriminate dumping of waste, proper disposal of
solid and liquid waste
 Protect our vital watersheds from fires and illegal use
since they protect us from flooding
 Reforest damaged hillsides
 Reassess and improve our infrastructure to cope with
observed changes
© H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

22. What do we do?
 Claim ownership of the environment. It is not “they”
or “the government” that owns it. YOU own it.
 Assess your own vulnerability: Observe recent flood
water levels; identify if you live in a flood plain; look
out for tilted utility poles; check for clogged or
inadequate drains
 Become socially active: demand from your
parliamentary representative that they remedy
possible vulnerabilities
 Don’t procrastinate
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

23. Remember...
 You depend on the environment for your needs (water,
clean air, food, etc.)
 The environment naturally has built in mechanisms to
deal with weather/climatic vagaries
 It is our manipulation of the environment that puts us
at risk, in addition to building our settlements in
disaster-prone areas
 A Disaster can be mitigated by reducing Risk and
Vulnerability
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service

24. Thank you!
(c) H. Anderson. T&T Meteorological Service