Hurricane reconstruction program, Central America and the Dominican Republic : final report

Department of Commerce was one of 13 U.S. Government Agencies funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to help the countries of Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic rebuild their economies and improve their abilities to respond to hurricanes and other natural disasters. The Department"s Hurricane Reconstruction Program was comprised of activities developed by three of its bureaus: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the International Trade Administration (ITA). USAID allocated $US17.1M to the Department for the program. The Department"s objectives during project implementation were to provide key infrastructure elements; develop much needed hydrometeorological forecasting and early warning systems; help promote more sustainable, resilient uses of coastal resources; help build local and regional capacity for coastal hazards and mitigation; develop guidance for improving the construction of houses and assessing construction of critical facilities; and encourage disaster-resilient economic revitalization. Department activities emphasized training and capacity building to promote maintainability and sustainability of the systems and programs that were implemented. The Department"s program included various activities in six prime problem areas: (1) base infrastructure reconstruction; (2) forecast and early warning systems; (3) disaster preparedness and response; (4) ustainable coastal communities; (5) economic revitalization; and (6) transnational watershed management. Within each area, different objectives were identified that provided the basis for identifying the activities to be implemented. (Author abstract, modified)