CEDMA makes adjustments to Disaster Response Documents

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is working to ensure that regional governments are prepared for the dual issues of COVID-19 and the Hurricane Season.
 
With the region still reeling from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Atlantic Hurricane season has already lifted its head with five named storms, including one hurricane that had already developed within the first month.
 
Elizabeth Riley, Executive Director of CDEMA, told SKNVibes that they have made a number of adjustments to their disaster response documents to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to affect the region.
 
She explained that her agency has been working in collaboration with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to develop proper guidelines for shelters in member states in the event of a disaster and the adjustments for the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
“This was a very important piece because, of course, shelter situations are situations that can potentially increase your number of COVID cases if the health protocols are not appropriately adhered to. So, we revamped shelter guidance last year and integrated the health protocols into the retraining of shelter managers and the training of new shelter managers,” Riley noted.
 
Moreover, the agency has been working with regional and internal partners to educate them on the necessary steps and protocols in place across the various territories in event of  the deployment of a natural disaster.
 
This, the Executive Director believes, would assist both parties to neither spread nor contract the virus during deployment to the various territories, “so the principle of do no harm is critical”. 
 
COVID-19 monitoring across the region is critical for the agency, as its partnership with several regional institutions, including the University of the West Indies, has allowed for evidence-based decision making on where to draw support.
 
Speaking at a conference where she updated media practitioners on the impact of Hurricane Elsa, Riley noted that by monitoring the numbers across the region, they are able to pinpoint where they could get surge support; that being drawing human resources to assist in recovery efforts.
 
One example, she pointed out, is the assist of manpower provided by St. Kitts and Nevis through the deployment of 11 soldiers to St. Vincent and Grenadines to assist with the recovery efforts following the eruption of La Soufriere Volcano.
 
“We have been able to do it successfully. You would recognise that we would have responded to the La Soufriere event in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We deployed surge support into St. Vincent and the Grenadines...and we were able to bring those personnel back out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines with no positive COVID cases,” reminded Riley.
 
Additionally, the Executive Director disclosed that they were also able to return their personnel from Guyana and Suriname without any instance of positive cases of COVID-19.