DEM Says There Are Too Few Emergency Shelters

The Department of Emergency Management is preparing to launch a comprehensive assessment of the emergency shelters across the island.

Director, Judy Thomas made the announcement while addressing the third in a series of training workshops for emergency shelter managers at the Ministry of Education's conference room

Ms Thomas has outlined several initiatives earmarked for 2009.

Among these is a structural assessment of the emergency shelters across the island, which she says will look at the integrity of the buildings.

"It will help the Ministry of Education to decide what is the most efficient part of the school to allocate as shelters because we are running very short of shelter capacity at the national level and we have to bring on board for more classrooms.'

Ms. Thomas told the workshop, comprising several shelter wardens and other emergency management partners, the department was working on special programme for the schools.

That initiative will see special disaster units set up and run by the students themselves.

"Once they know that their school is going to be a shelter and that is so promoted the children should gang together and ensure the windows are not broken, taps are not broken, water units in the bathrooms are secure and to ensure that their peers also help to keep these things in place."

Ms. Thomas says despite concerns voiced, principals who run the schools on a daily basis are better placed to transform the buildings for emergency situations.

The DEM director says the department is mindful that teachers, who will be responsible for the school based shelters, will need help in the event in an emergency and is urging the community around the schools to get involved.

"We realize that the Department of Emergency Management will never get the kinds of people in it to run all the important sectors and therefore there has to be a serious decentralization of some of the key tasks that are given to us."

She says the department plans to re-launch the Adopt a Shelter programme, which in its new format will allow non-governmental organisation and other international agencies to assist with their development.

Source: www.cbc.bb

Happy New Year From St. Philip South DEO

Here's wishing each new day brings for you...

happiness, prosperity and continued success!

Happy New Year from the St. Philip South

District Emergency Organisation.

Merry Christmas From St.Philip South DEO

Joy in the air... good cheer every where.

Christmas is a special time to remember those who are dear to us.

May the good tidings and warmth it brings be with you throughout the year.

Merry Christmas from the St. Philip South District Emergency Organisation.

St. Philip South DEO Receives Donation

The Officers and members of the St. Philip South District Emergency Organisation are now closer to their goal of purchasing a much needed computer and multimedia projector.

Help has come from the team at Barbados Public Workers Co-operative Credit Union Six Roads Branch. The Credit Union has been operating in the Emerald City Supermarket complex since May of this year and has already become a welcome and productive member of the St. Philip South community.

St. Philip South D.E.O. member Henderson Linton expressed his gratitude to the credit union team at Six Roads saying, "We needed help to purchase the much needed equipment and we are blessed to have received this assistance."

The computer will be used mostly for data collection and the multimedia projector will be used as a teaching aid for community education and outreach.

There was also a call for residents of the community to get involved in the work of the D.E.O. not only during the huricane season but throughout the year.

Invest 94L Approaching The Windward Islands

All eyes are looking eastward this afternoon as Invest 94L makes its way towards the Windward Islands. At 2:00 p.m. the area of disturbed weather was located 850 miles East of the Windward Islands near latitude 12.2 degrees North and longitude 48.8 degrees West.

Invest 94L with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph is moving towards the West at 17 mph. Shower activity associated with this area of low pressure is reported to be disorganised. However, forecasters are indicating there may be a chance of thunderstorms and also slow intensification of this system.

DERT Training Programme Concludes

The District Emergency Response Team (DERT) training programme for District Emergency Organisations (DEO) officially ended yesterday at the Princess Margaret Secondary school, St. Philip. The pilot programme was designed to provide DEO members with the basics skills that they will need to respond to their community's immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster when the emergency services are not immediately available.

The programme concluded with a simulation and assessment exercise yesterday, during the exercise facilitators were able to assess the effectiveness of the course. The participants operated under simulated emergency conditions and were evaluated on all six modules of the training programme. The District Emergency Response Team training course is expected to be extended to the other DEOs.