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Photo: The Nassau Guardian
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – A climate-resilient hurricane shelter, able to withstand category five-level disasters and flagged as a global best practice, has been opened and activated on the island of Abaco, representing a trilateral partnership between the governments of The Bahamas and India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Built to withstand 200 mile-per-hour (mph) winds and accommodate up to 800 people, the newly operationalised hurricane shelter and community centre is built as a multi-purpose facility for year-round community activities and a safe space during disasters for the people of Abaco.
It includes solar power and water-harvesting systems, disability-inclusive features at access points and bathrooms, an industrial kitchen, office space for emergency personnel and communications, and outdoor space for sporting activities during the year.
The UNDP-managed project was funded by the Indian government with a one-million-dollar grant from the India-UN Development Fund. The Disaster Risk Management Authority (DRA) of The Bahamas served as national implementing partner for the initiative, overseeing construction activities and mobilising US$3.5 million in parallel co-financing from the Bahamas government.
The Indian High Commissioner to The Bahamas, Shri Mayank Joshi, said the Abaco shelter has been chosen as a global best practice under the India-led Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), a global partnership inspired by India’s experiences with natural disasters, in which UNDP also serves as a strategic partner.
“As we hand over this facility, we celebrate not just a building but a partnership of shared values, shared challenges, and shared aspirations for a safer and more prosperous future,” Joshi said.
New Delhi said that the project embodies the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, in which the world is one family, as well as reflecting India’s solidarity with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and its steadfast support for climate resilience and disaster preparedness.
Minister of State with responsibility for Disaster Risk Management, Leon Lundy, said the facility now stands as a new beacon of hope in the face of more frequent and severe disasters.
“In ordinary days, it will serve as a place of training, community meetings, skills building, and youth development. In extraordinary hours, it will become a sanctuary, a command post, a beacon of order when the winds rise and the waters push,” Lundy said.
The government said, building on this success, the DRA plans to further expand shelter coverage into the future across the Bahamas’ Family Islands, most at risk from hurricanes.
UNDP Resident Representative in The Bahamas, Dr. Kishan Khoday, lauded the South-South cooperation model between The Bahamas and India, with UNDP and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, which UNDP hosts, prioritising this model as a way forward to scale up action on the climate emergency.
“Category five shelters can have a big impact on community resilience goals in places like The Bahamas, with scope to replicate the Abaco shelter model in other Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
“Today, SIDS are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, with 2025 seeing new records broken in the Caribbean for the intensity of storms and degree of impacts. Ensuring a resilient recovery from disasters must include scaled-up investments to expand climate-resilient infrastructure and shelters. We commend The Bahamas and India for this outcome,” Khoday said.
The UNDP said that the hurricane-resilient shelter in Abaco concludes its post-Hurricane Dorian resilient recovery support to The Bahamas.
The UNDP Multi-Country Office in Jamaica said it is scaling up climate resilience and disaster recovery support to the Caribbean as intensifying climate change impacts generate more intense and frequent storm systems.
“Twenty twenty-five (2025) was one of the most powerful hurricane seasons on record, with Hurricane Melissa being one of three category five-level storms to hit the Caribbean in 2025. With record ocean temperatures and more frequent and severe climate disasters becoming the new normal, a priority is to rapidly enhance levels of climate resilience and disaster preparedness,” the UNDP added.
