Under the auspices of the Department of Disaster Management, the Essential Services Committee met at the conference room of the Ministry of Infrastructure on Tuesday, July 13th, to disseminate information and advice to the public relative to potential storms during this hurricane season. The informative session took the form of live streaming via the Government’s Department of Information Technology & E- Government Services (DITES).
The Department of Disaster Management, in collaboration with the Essential Services Committee, is preparing to conduct simulation exercises in preparation for the eventuality of hurricanes during the 2021 season. These simulations will take place on Wednesday, July 21st and Thursday, July 22nd.
Members of the Essential Services Committee are drawn from government agencies and communications and utility companies, for the purpose of preparing the community for any impending disaster, and directing the restoration process in the aftermath of passing hurricanes, in particular. The Committee includes personnel from entities such as Anglec, Digicel, Flow, the Water Corporation, Sol and Delta Petroleum.
Mr. Jerry “Dice” Richardson, Programme Officer in the Department of Disaster Management, moderated Tuesday’s information session. He introduced the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communication and Utilities, Mr. Karim Hodge, who said: “It is indeed a pleasure that after an extended break, the Essential Services Committee of the National Disaster Management is now able to ensure that the multi-agency simulation exercises become an annual calendar event.”
He said that in this year of revival, they have adopted the theme “Minimising Destruction Through Mitigation and Preparation”. The Permanent Secretary then stressed the fact that the
Essential Services Committee acknowledges the ongoing need for partnership and teamwork, since it is only through this mechanism that Anguilla can be successful in its efforts of mitigation and preparation.
Mr. Hodge emphasised: “It must be reiterated that it is incumbent on everyone in communities across the island, and within these agencies, to ensure that during the exercise their business continuity plans are in place. This will facilitate at least some level of operation in the aftetmath of a disaster.” He noted that managers in each of the agencies must ensure that their staff are fully cognizant of their responsibilities before, during and after a disaster.
The PS noted that the benefit of simulation exercises is the restoration of utility services after a hurricane. He said during the exercises emphasis will be placed on the quality of coordination among the utililty entities which are dependent upon each other.
He finally recognised the grace and protection of God in the midst of past disasters, saying: “We must be reminded that Anguilla has been quite fortunate as far as loss of life is concerned. For this we give thanks to God almighty for continually sparing the lives of our people. We are undeniably a nation which must continue to pray for God’s protection.”
Upon that note, the PS requested Chief Engineer, Mr. Bancroft Battick, to pray particularly for God’s protection from impending hurricanes during 2021 season. Further to the prayer, the introduction of the exercise Planning Team and an overview of the simulation exercises, were done by the Director of Public Utilities, Mr. Travis Carty.
Mr. Carty said that there were three simple objectives of the simulation exercises: 1. to assess the quality of communication between the agencies; 2. to undertake a briefing of needs for coordinating restoration work; 3. to reveal opportunities for improvement in the process of coordinating communications.
During the session, each member of the Essential Services Committee, representatives of their various agencies, gave an overview of their entity’s responsibilities prior to, during and after a hurricane.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
