Reflections from the 2026 DRM Conference - Caribbean and Central American Edition

By Jamaica Flying Labs and WeRobotics

In the days, weeks, and months that followed Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica Flying Labs, WeRobotics, and Esri convened a locally led, globally supported drone response. The effort was the largest drone response yet after a major disaster, bringing together over 30 local responders, government agencies, regional organizations, and local and global technology partners to document damage, support emergency response efforts, and generate critical data for recovery and rebuilding. Our response showed what is possible when local leadership is paired with global support, while also highlighting the systems, investments, relationships, and partnerships needed to make such efforts effective. 

What we learnt from the experience became the foundation for the 2026 Drones, GIS, and AI for Disaster Risk Management Conference and Workshop – Caribbean and Central America Edition, held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, from 5–7 May 2026. This was the first edition of the conference taking place in this region, inspired by the success of the Southern African DRM conference, which has grown into a thriving annual event since 2022 and is now slated for a fifth edition in November this year. 

Under the theme “Turning Data into Action: Beyond the Storm – Mapping Hope & Building Resilience”, the conference provided a space for local, national, and regional disaster risk management stakeholders alongside geospatial technology organizations and multilateral organizations to explore how drones, GIS, artificial intelligence, and the data they provide can strengthen resilience before, during, and after disasters.

Over three days, participants examined how emerging technologies can:

• Strengthen early warning systems and national disaster preparedness
• Accelerate emergency response and post-disaster assessment
• Support reconstruction and resilient infrastructure planning
• Scale local capacity through shared standards, tools, and operational models
• Build trusted and interoperable data ecosystems that empower countries before, during, and after crises.

What Took Place

The first day set the policy and operational context. A major milestone was the launch of Jamaica's new Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Standards by the Jamaica Bureau of Standards, marking an important step toward strengthening drone operations and governance in the region. A multi-stakeholder plenary made space for reflection on the response to Hurricane Melissa and the lessons learned from the field. Additional sessions explored drone response coordination, community mapping, GIS infrastructure, coastal resilience data, the use of AI in early warning systems, and the role of women and youth in leading resilience through technology.

While the first day focused on lessons learned, the second day focused on building the systems necessary for future resilience. Sessions examined disaster financing, the hidden economic costs of disasters, and the value of geospatial data in disaster risk management. Working groups gathered structured evidence from practitioners across multiple sectors and geographies, and discussions explored scalable recovery solutions and the role of media and communication systems during crises. At the end of the day, participants collectively committed to actions under the Beyond the Storm Action Framework. It was a signal that the conversations taking place were intended to lead to implementation rather than remain conference discussions.

The final day moved from strategy to hands-on technical skill development, in which participants engaged in practical exercises covering drone operations, Survey123 data collection, ArcGIS Online collaboration, GeoAI feature extraction, StoryMaps creation, and dashboard development. Others participated in the workshop facilitated by Jamaica Flying Labs and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team which looked at using Drone Tasking Manager. The workshops reinforced a central message that was spoken throughout the conference: technology is most effective when people have the skills, systems, relationships and partnerships necessary to use it.

Six Lessons for the Future

• Drone and GIS data already influence real-world decisions. Participants shared examples from Hurricane Melissa and more recent incidents, including a landfill fire in the Cayman Islands, where aerial imagery helped redirect resources, identify inaccessible communities, support government decision-making, and reveal damage that would otherwise have remained undocumented.
• The gap is readiness, not technology. The tools exist and they work. The barriers are often procedural and institutional: procurement speed, CAA authorization timelines, staff training, budget line items, and data-sharing culture. In most of the Hurricane Melissa cases discussed, the failure was not technical: it was the absence of baseline data, pre-approved protocols, collaboration, designated key stakeholders, and budget lines that survived the annual review.
• The economic case for geospatial technologies in disaster response can be made. The numbers are real and they are available. Examples presented during the conference demonstrated substantial savings and avoided losses through proactive drone deployment. Participants emphasized the need to translate these experiences into a compelling investment case for governments and development partners.
• Data without integration fails everyone. Every sector described operating from different datasets, without shared platforms, and without pre-mapped baselines. The result was duplicated effort, delayed decisions, and inequitable resource distribution. A unified disaster information platform is not a nice-to-have: it is the prerequisite for everything else.
• Communication is disaster infrastructure. Hurricane Melissa exposed vulnerabilities in communication systems that affected emergency coordination, accessibility, and public information. Investing in  communication networks before disasters occur is both achievable and necessary.
• The region is ready to lead. Participants from across the Caribbean and Central America demonstrated a strong appetite for a regional disaster response blueprint, shared regulatory frameworks, and continued knowledge exchange.

The conference became a bridge between what was endured and what is now possible. It brought Caribbean and Central American experiences into the centre of global conversations on disaster risk management and transformed lived experience into shared knowledge that can inform future action. In the wake of Hurricane Melissa, this collaboration space provided an opportunity for the region to learn together, reflect together, and imagine what a stronger response could look like next time.

This was the conference's greatest success. Hurricanes and other natural disasters will return, and they will test the systems, relationships, and communities that hold us together. The question is whether we will meet them differently. It is spaces like this that help us chart a path towards a future where local communities are not only better prepared to respond, but better equipped to recover, rebuild, and emerge more resilient than before.

The conference co-organizing team — made up of Jamaica Flying Labs, WeRobotics and Esri — is looking forward to co-organizing the next edition together with Panama Flying Labs in Panama in 2027. Dates will be announced in September 2026.