The Office of Disaster Management (ODM) has implemented a multifacted response approach to natural hazards during this COVID-19 pandemic period. The coordinator for National Disaster Preparedness, Fitzroy Pascal, said the COVID-19 pandemic has created a multi-hazard environment given that Dominica is currently in the hurricane season.
He said Dominica has learnt a tough lesson from the pandemic, and so the ODM is not only preparing for hurricanes or other natural disasters at this time. According to him, the country could be hit by natural hazards at any time and this has necessitated the ODM to update its response procedures accordingly.
Pascal also revealed that the ODM partnered with the National Emergency Planning Organization (NEPO) to work out protocols for responding to emergency situations in the face of the pandemic. He said some of the protocols updated include relief management, emergency communications, shelter management and damage assessment.
The ODM coordinator said his office has also trained 300 people in emergency communication, shelter management and relief management at the community, district, and national levels. The ODM will also carry out an evacuation simulation exercise in case of any natural emergencies. The training has been scheduled to hold in Layou by July.
We have enhanced the emergency communications coordination. We have also strengthened partnerships with key stakeholders including the private sector, the public sector and the NGOs. We have also conducted our own internal preparedness activities. We have just completed a hurricane tabletop exercise where we tested the coordination of partners during a hurricane event.
Fitzroy Pascal, Coordinator for National Disaster Preparedness
The disaster management coordinator also disclosed that the ODM will train 60 people on radio communications in emergency situations. Furthermore, the ODM will decentralize its storage capacity in major districts around the country instead of being centred in the capital.
We do not want something to happen in the island, God forbid, and everyone is running to Roseau. So we are trying decentralized storage in terms of erecting container pads and having secured containers with relief storage throughout the country and we are looking at a district approach.
Fitzroy Pascal, Coordinator for National Disaster Preparedness
The Local Government Commissioner, Glenroy Toussaint, revealed that his administration is working with the Dominica Association of Persons with Disabilities (DAPD) to conduct workshops for evacuating persons with disabilities during natural emergencies. He said this will cover the entire seven local government districts and include shelter managers and will be completed by July.
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