Residents of Anegada will this week benefit from emergency response training
to be facilitated by the Department of Disaster Management (DDM).
At the end of the workshop, participants will become certified members of the
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the second such team to be established
on Anegada given the particular vulnerabilities of that island. CERT teams have
also been established on Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda following similar
training sessions.
Training Officer at the DDM, Ms. Carishma Hicks explained that the CERT teams
are intended to build disaster management capacity among the sister islands and
to bolster the work of emergency first responders.
“The objective of the CERT training is to equip the team with basic disaster
response skills so that they are able to adequately provide emergency support in
the event of a disaster or hazard impact,” Ms. Hicks said
The training sessions will expose participants to a range of topics, Ms.
Hicks explained, “In addition to basic disaster preparedness training, the
participants will be trained in light search and rescue, providing basic medical
aid and fire suppression. This type of training is especially important for
Anegada because of past emergencies that have occurred and the documented risk
posed by natural hazards to this island.”
Regarding expectations post training, Ms. Hicks also said the DDM wants
members of the CERT team to also function as disaster management advocates
within the local Anegada community.
She said, “In territories like the British Virgin Islands where communities
are separated by water, it is important to have a core group of people who are
able to support the work of first responders and also function as the eyes and
ears of the DDM on the ground. The residents of Anegada are aware of their
vulnerabilities and are very keen on being included in the training.”
So far nine persons have registered for the CERT training which begins this
evening at the Emile Dunlop Community Centre. Sessions will continue through
Friday at the same venue from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Persons wishing to register for this week’s CERT training can still do so by
contacting the DDM at 468-4200 or District Officer, Mrs. Andrea Vanterpool-Fahie
at 495-8048.
The training sessions will be conducted in conjunction with the BVI Red Cross
and the Virgin Islands Fire and Rescue Service.
The establishment of the
Community Emergency Response Teams falls under the Community Preparedness
programme area of the DDM and is funded by the United Nations Development
Programme Caribbean Risk Management Initiative project.
The Department of Disaster Management is the Government agency mandated to
reduce the loss of life and property attributable to disasters by ensuring that
adequate preparedness and mitigation measures and response and recovery
mechanisms are established to counteract the impact of natural and technological
hazards.
