Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

They year 2017 was devastating for the Caribbean. Hurricanes Irma (September 5-9) and Maria (September 18-20) impacted British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Cuba, Florida; and the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos Islands respectively. They resulted in 693 deaths and more than $155.7 Billion in damage. These two category five hurricanes had maximum sustained winds of 175 miles per hour. The devastation was wide-spread and intense. Johnson (2015) documents the history of hurricanes, hurricane science, and their changing impacts in the Caribbean. Such impacts include loss of life, property damage, economic impacts, and degradation of resources. Tourism is a vital part of the Caribbean economies and an important part of the touristic appeal is the region’s heritage and culture. Such culture and heritage is captured and showcased in the region’s museums. This project assesses the disaster preparedness and the resilience of museums in the twenty-eight member countries of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, including members of the Museum Association of the Caribbean. An on-line survey of each museum is conducted using SurveyMonkey. The survey instrument is based on that used by the Michigan Museum Association and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at GVSU (2012) “Connecting Collections” project. This facilitates comparisons and contrasts with collections in the Caribbean. Recommendations are provided for protection of these important cultural and heritage resources..