Lifelines and Livelihood: a Social Accounting Matrix Approach to Calamity Preparedness

This paper¹ describes a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM)‐based method for evaluating disaster preparedness and recovery strategies. The first section of the paper explains the overall approach and its extension to the evaluation of specific components of lifeline systems in a small Caribbean island. The next section explains the relationship between the physical and economic parameters of the energy‐electricity‐water lifelines and the tourism sector on the island and describes the construction of the corresponding accounting framework. The diachronic multipliers calculated from this extended matrix are used to determine the impact of potential hazards for tourism and other economic activities on the island. The case of a water storage tank, providing back‐up supply to the major hotels, is used to illustrate the approach. In the final sections, the example is elaborated to highlight trade‐offs between economic and non‐economic costs for particular businesses or households. The events and strategies described then may be combined into an event‐based scenario analysis.