By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A SIMULATED Category 4 hurricane hitting New Providence revealed communication and coordination issues within The Bahamas’ disaster response system, officials acknowledged during a national tabletop exercise on Friday.

The three-day drill, led by the Disaster Risk Management Authority (DRMA) at the National Emergency Operations Centre, aimed to evaluate how national agencies would manage preparation, response, and recovery in a high-impact storm scenario. The simulation compressed weeks of emergency procedures into just a few hours, testing the system’s limits under pressure.

Cleavon Nixon, DRMA’s manager of disaster operations, said the exercise showed agencies struggled to communicate effectively during the simulated crisis. He noted that while each agency has its own role, overlapping responsibilities sometimes interfere with coordinated action.

He explained that the goal was to assess how authorities would respond if New Providence itself were severely hit while still needing to assist the Family Islands and request international help.

Aaron Sargent, DRMA’s managing director, said the drill reflected a broader shift in how the agency will manage national emergencies under new legislation, including structural changes to how the emergency centre functions during disasters.

He highlighted assistance from the US Forestry Service in developing a new operational framework and said tools like a national alert system, similar to the Marco Alert, are in development. The platform will allow emergency messages to be sent directly via SMS to every mobile phone holder in the country.

Mr Sargent said the DRMA is also working with partners on rapid communication technologies to strengthen early warnings and response during crises.

Jenna Daggett, Bahamas programme manager at US Northern Command, emphasised the importance of building joint capacity across the region. “If we’re all stronger, we can all respond to those shared challenges together,” she said.

Mr Nixon stressed that climate change is making hurricanes harder to predict and prepare for. He recalled how Hurricane Oscar developed with little warning last year. “We went to bed Friday night with a 20 percent chance of any formation,” he said. “Woke up the next morning... getting a call from the Met Office to say, hey, we have to issue now a hurricane warning for the southern islands.”

He added: “My message is simple, do not wait.”

Further tabletop exercises are planned in four Family Island regions, with officials using insights from the drill to revise disaster response and communication strategies.