AS Jamaica’s Prime Minister Mrs Portia Simpson Miller has told the people of Dominica, this nation stands in solidarity with them in their period of grief and loss and is “ready to assist in any way possible” following the passage of Tropical Storm Erika.

Of course, it can’t only be about the Jamaican Government offering a helping hand. Companies, private groups as well as individuals should also reach out to Dominicans with structured assistance.

In that respect, this newspaper applauds the decision by the Sandals Foundation to launch a campaign to aid recovery.

We are told that the effort will include a fund-raising drive involving thousands of guests at Sandals and Beaches resorts, as well as online donations through the Sandals Foundation webpage.

“We will be reaching out to our trade partners, travel agents, suppliers, everyone; this is an emergency situation and we want to throw our full weight behind our Caribbean brothers and sisters in their time of need,” said Mr Adam Stewart, president of the Sandals Foundation and CEO of Sandals Resorts International.

And, even as Jamaicans — like people in the wider Caribbean, the Americas and the world — reach out to Dominica, the recognition has to be at the forefront that this country could easily be in line for the next disaster.

We dare not forget that Jamaica and its sister Caribbean countries are directly in the path of storms such as Erika which are spawned every year in the Atlantic, from June to November. And the countries of the Caribbean, not least Jamaica, have had their fair share of storm-triggered disasters.

Weather forecasting is a notoriously uncertain business, and in Dominica’s case it would appear that the potential for devastation from rains triggered by Erika may well have been underestimated.

As the situation now stands, more than 30 people are said to have been confirmed dead, with more than 20 others being described as missing, likely dead. The extremely mountainous island nation, 290 square miles in size, with just over 70,000 people, has suffered horrendous infrastructural damage.

The grief and devastation have come largely from mud and landslides triggered by intense rains over a 12-hour period. The rains also caused several of the island’s fast-flowing rivers to overflow, sweeping through population centres.

We get the sense that Tropical Storm Erika may have taken Dominica like a ‘thief in the night’, just as Tropical Storm Nicole did for Jamaica in 2010. Jamaicans will recall that Nicole — perceived by many as posing no more than a threat of heavy rain — left several dead, along with extensive flooding, which triggered billions of dollars in damage. Months after its dissipation, flood-prone New Market in north-west St Elizabeth was covered in floodwaters.

The disaster in Dominica comes as a reminder to regional governments, disaster agencies, and citizens in general that they must remain alert and take nothing for granted.

Rapid climate change is said by the experts to be a leading cause for extremes in weather conditions such as intense droughts of recent years as well as devastating floods such as experienced by Dominica last week and by Jamaica five years ago.

Highly respected disaster management expert Dr Barbara Carby urged Jamaicans via television, this week, to plan for weather occurrences that “used to be abnormal becoming normal”. Let’s all take heed.