Earthquakes: as Barbados is in an active seismic zone, it may be affected by tremors. Many natural disasters occurred in the late 1600s, such as the locust plague of 1663, the Bridgetown fire and a major hurricane in 1667. The completion of a domestic debt restructuring in late 2018 has been very helpful in reducing economic uncertainty, and the terms agreed with creditors have helped to put debt on a clear downward trajectory. Millions were injured and made homeless . The process for providing construction permits has been streamlined. There is much scope for further improvement in the business climate, including by reforming customs administration to facilitate trading across borders, streamlining processes for setting up new businesses, and strengthening protection of minority shareholders.Improving resilience to natural disasters and climate change will help strengthen the outlook. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.© 2020 International Monetary Fund. “It is important that we all see disaster management as our business,” the Director stressed.ReliefWeb Labs projects explore new and emerging opportunities to improve information delivery to humanitarians.Learn more about ReliefWeb, leading online source for reliable and timely humanitarian information on global crises and disasters since 1996.OCHA coordinates the global emergency response to save lives and protect people in humanitarian crises. You should follow and monitor local and international weather updates from the Earthquakes are a potential threat and tremors are felt occasionally in the Caribbean, In the event of an earthquake, you should follow the advice of the local authorities. Barbados Natural Disasters News Service from EIN News. Under the BERT program, grants to SOEs are targeted to decline to under 6 percent of GDP by FY 2021/22, by a combination of: (i) much stronger oversight of SOEs, supported by improved reporting and tighter control over SOE borrowing; (ii) cost reduction, including reduction of the wage bill; (iii) revenue enhancement, including an increase in user fees, combined with investments to improve services delivered by SOEs; and (iv) mergers and divestment. The Barbadians dominated the Caribbean Sugar Industry in these early years. Travel disruption is still possible and national control measures may be brought in with little notice, so check our The hurricane season normally runs from June to November. 2015-07-21 21:23:27 UTC 4.3 magnitude, 10 km depth Bathsheba, Saint Joseph, Barbados 4.3 magnitude earthquake 2015-07-21 21:23:27 UTC at 21:23 July 21, 2015 UTC A broadening of the base of the VAT and the land tax, implemented in March 2019 in the context of the FY2019/20 budget, are also supporting revenue. The authorities have started to address challenges related to the business climate with several initiatives. Depositary corporations are in general well-capitalized and liquid. With the inclusion of natural disaster clauses into the new domestic and external bonds, the government of Barbados effectively used the debt restructuring to strengthen its protection against natural disasters. The IMF Press Center is a password-protected site for working journalists.The IMF Press Center is a password-protected site for working journalists.A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. The agreed terms will bring about an immediate reduction in public debt, with a 26 percent haircut on principal and accrued interest, and will support further debt reduction, with a lower interest rate. With the inclusion of natural disaster clauses into the new domestic and external bonds, the government of Barbados effectively used the debt restructuring to strengthen its protection against natural disasters.The authorities’ BERT program, supported by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility, is on track.