Join us on Thursday, June 11, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (Washington DC, or EDT) for the Readiness virtual meeting: extreme hydrometeorological events 2026.
The Region is recurrently affected by extreme hydrometeorological events — hurricanes, torrential rainfall, floods, and landslides — that continuously test the response capacity of health systems and disaster risk management mechanisms in each country.
The climate outlook for 2026 further reinforces the need for preparedness. The latest forecasts indicate a moderate to high probability that El Niño conditions will be present during the year, with potential effects on the distribution and intensity of rainfall across the Region. This could exacerbate the occurrence of extreme events in already vulnerable areas, making anticipatory preparedness even more urgent.
As the hurricane season begins, this meeting represents a strategic opportunity to bring together experts in disaster management and public health in emergencies. The exchange of experiences and lessons learned aims to support the review and updating of response plans, promote the verification of procedures in countries with emphasis on health service networks, and strengthen national and intersectoral coordination mechanisms across different territorial levels, so that each country can respond in a timely and effective manner to issued alerts.
Languages
The session will be simultaneously translated into English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
Meeting Objectives
Provide updated information on the 2026 hurricane season, El Niño conditions, and other extreme events affecting the Region.
Strengthen protocols and procedures related to health service management, epidemiology, and emergency operations by incorporating lessons learned to support a timely and effective regional response.
Target Audience
Ministry of Health emergency personnel, Disaster Risk Management Office staff, humanitarian agencies and partners, and the general public.
Agenda
Opening remarks
Dr. Ciro Ugarte
Director, Health Emergencies Department, PAHO
Forecast of Extreme Hydrometeorological Events in the Region
2026 Hurricane Season and El Nino Forecast
Mr. Rodney Martinez
World Meteorological Organization
Key technical capabilities for health emergency response
Health services during hydrometeorological events: impacts and response
Mr. José Lucas da Fonseca
Disaster Risk Program of the Brazilian Ministry of Health
Epidemiological surveillance and associated public health risks
Dr. Berk Geroglu
World Health Organization (WHO)
Dr. Nevashan Govender
National Institute for Communicable Diseases of South Africa (GOARN partner)
Coordination of emergency health response to Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica
Dr. Nicole Dawkins-Wright
Ministry of Health and Wellness of Jamaica
Logistics in emergency response: key considerations and tools
Mr. Eric Itin Loshe
Regional Logistics Cluster
Environmental health in the flood emergency response: La Mojana, Colombia
Mr. Luis Fernando Pérez Monterroza
Sucre Departmental Health Secretariat