Why it costs more to protect islands.

(I am familiar with the U.S. Virgin Islands so I will use them as an example.)

The U.S. Virgin Islands has an additional preparedness and response burden that the mainland does not have to endure.?Like all islands, the Virgin Islands are isolated - help is not available from the next town, city, or state. Islands must be self-sufficient and this requires a greater degree of, and a different kind of, preparedness. Compared to a similarly sized city on the mainland, island preparedness costs more. All island states should consider this argument as a way to support more funding.

????All infrastructure requires people to operate, and people get sick. In addition, and as is typical of islands, many people perform multiple roles and most everyone has at least two jobs. Many of the police and firefighters are also in the National Guard; a single person may be a police officer or firefighter, a National Guard member, a Red Cross shelter manager, and a part-time ferry captain. One person gets sick, and many jobs are lost. Having so many responsibilities is also exhausting. ?

This lack of human resources means that when disaster occurs, those in charge of protecting the community are likely to be suffering its effects themselves and unable to help. After Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, the Virgin Islands Police Department lost 90% of its official vehicles, and many officers and their families were reduced to sleeping in their personal cars. ?Nearby help is simply not nearby.

This is an updated version of “Towards a Homeland Security Strategy for the United States Virgin Islands, The Terrorism and Natural Disasters Planning Group.” Available at: https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/2862