The Department of Disaster Management, on behalf of the National Disaster Management Committee, will be coordinating its Annual Preparedness Drill on Friday, June 25th, 2021. This drill is a great opportunity for individuals, businesses and organizations to assess their properties inclusive of shutters, and other protective measures, to ensure they have all the equipment needed to protect their homes and businesses in the event that severe weather threatens them. The exercise also enables the local business community a chance to review their Business Continuity Plans to ensure that they can respond and recover swiftly after any major event while assisting in the safe restoration of critical and essential functions and services to their customers and community.
This year, the Preparedness Drill is being conducted in a virtual setting utilising an improved process spearheaded by the Essential Services Working Group. This time, from the comfort of your manager’s desks, Private and Public Sectors will be asked to complete a short online questionnaire. Participants will then have the opportunity to conduct their own assessments on readiness to specific threats and hazards within their critical facilities. These assessments will help identify the state of assets, realise the condition of critical inventory and assign the resources available to mitigate against risks and existing gaps. A testament to the verbiage ‘Together, we can make resilience a reality by focusing on continuous improvement while striving toward local mitigation and preparedness goals.’
According to the Director of Disaster Management Anguilla, Mr Calvin A. Samuel, “early preparedness is key and the responsibility of everyone. All residents are encouraged to safeguard their properties, look for vulnerable areas, identify any risks or hazards within their immediate vicinity, develop emergency plans, protect assets, (people, property, operations) and take action to reduce damage and loss of life. The Department of Disaster Management remains committed to ensuring the safety of the residents of Anguilla and I am encouraging every resident, no matter where they live, to stay vigilant, as we strive to build a culture that understands that resilience is a critical part of our day-to-day lives.”
The National Disaster Management Committee (NDMC) is urging individuals, Government Departments, Statutory Bodies, businesses and organisations to take part in this important preparedness drill and complete the online questionnaire on the 25th Day of June 2021 by 4 pm. This is critical, as the resulting findings will be an integral part of assessing the readiness of public and private sector agencies to the impacts of disaster-related hazards.
The link for the questionnaire can be found on Facebook @ Department of Disaster Management – Anguilla.
For questions or further information please call the Department of Disaster Management at 264-497-2926.
Department of Disaster Management
22 June 2021
– Press Release
