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In many Caribbean countries a lack of established good practice methods means that engineers and planners are often unable to plan for and mitigate floods effectively. In most Caribbean states rainfall intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves are not readily available. This is a result of the limited quantity of short‐duration rainfall data available and also because the few IDF curves that have been developed in the region are generally not in the public domain. The lack of readily available IDF curves in the region often results in engineers responsible for the design of key infrastructure inappropriately ‘transferring’ IDF curves developed for islands, where rainfall is less intense, for use in their designs. There are no countries in the Caribbean with nationally consistent flood hazard maps. This often leaves spatial and emergency planners with insufficient information to make important strategic decisions. This paper …