Manual for Environmental Health Contingency Planning for Floods in the Caribbean

This Manual has been designed as a guide to assist the Environmental Health (EH) sector in the development of contingency plans for flood events. It outlines the basic steps in the contingency planning process and provides instructions on the structure and elements of the plan. It also outlines the key management issues in contingency planning. The Manual also includes some assessment tools for use by EH Units both during and after flood situations. The main themes in EH have been addressed by providing detailed information and directions, which must be factored into the contingency planning process. These are Water Quantity and Quality, Sanitation and Hygiene, Vector Control, Food Sanitation, Chemical Hazards and Epidemiological Surveillance. It is recommended that users of this Manual first work through Sections 2 and 3 on the Contingency Planning Process, followed by Section 4 on the several EH thematic areas in which information and key issues specific to each theme are flagged.