Anguilla and the rest of the region are fortunate that so far there is no hurricane activity threatening the area. But weather watchers and related agencies on the island are taking no chances and are in fact in a preparatory, proactive and responsive mode.
This was attested to by a Multi-Agency Hurricane Tabletop Exercise which was held at the Emergency Operation Centre on Friday, July 17. The event was organised by the Essential Services Committee, whose chairman is Mr. Bancroft Battick, an arm of the National Disaster Management Committee. The opening session was led by Mr. Shaynis Connor, an Engineer at the Department of Infrastructure, but with the interactive participation of representatives of the various representatives and stakeholders.
The exercise was aimed at identifying gaps and weaknesses in disaster management plans when responding to the impact of a severe hurricane threat. Those gaps and weaknesses are in relation to the need for a quick response, communication and coordinated problem-solving.
Participants, drawn from departments and companies in the public and private sectors, looked at such simulated scenarios as a threat from a tropical wave east of the Leeward Islands and intensifying to hurricane strength. The severe weather system was supposed to threaten Anguilla and many of the Caribbean coastal regions.
The aims of the exercise were to: improve coordination and communication among participating agencies during a disaster emergency; formalise and agree on an information management system; improve safety conditions for workers; enhance the understanding of disaster roles and responsibilities; provide an orientation to the process of working in groups for emergency centre operations and procedures; and evaluate stakeholders’ actions against current response recovery and business continuity plans.
The three-hour event was well-attended, filling the Emergency Operations Centre to capacity.
