Natural disaster planning and preparedness are critical in the Caribbean, a region reliant on tourism and prone to hurricanes and earthquakes. Caribbean climate is mostly tropical. Countries use the Sendai Framework to guide and/or benchmark emergency planning and preparedness. Through its fair share of earthquakes and hurricanes, the Caribbean could identify strengths and gaps in emergency preparedness plans. Tsunamis present a serious threat to coastal developments and countries that rely on tourism and those that lie below sea level like Guyana. Most tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean. However, in 1692, 3000 thousand persons were killed in an earthquake and tsunami in Jamaica. Since the Caribbean has not experienced a tsunami in recent times, lessons from the Southeast Asia 2004 tsunami in Maldives, a small island developing state like Caribbean islands, along with an account of Japan’s preparedness and response to the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami in view of Japan’s long history of experiencing tsunamis, are presented. Learning from the rich experiences presented from the Caribbean and beyond, recommendations are made in line with the Sendai Priority Actions. By investing in preparedness, the Caribbean strengthens its collective ability to minimise the potentially devastating impacts of natural disasters.