St. Vincent and the Grenadines is joining its global counterparts to observe World Tsunami Awareness Day today.
This year’s World Tsunami Awareness Day promotes Target (D) of the “Sendai Seven Campaign” which focuses on reducing Natural Disasters’ damage to critical Infra structure and disruption of Human basic need services.
Speaking on the Face to Face program aired on NBC Radio this morning, Training Officer at the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), Houlda Peters said they have been hosting a series of public sensitization programs in schools and communities across the country.
Miss Peters said the project is being funded by the United Nation’s Education Sports and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
She said they have also been developing Tsunami Inundation and evacuation Maps for communities between Kingstown and Argyle as part of the project.
National Emergency Management Organization is also currently holding a series of training programs on the leeward side of the country, during this week focused on Community Emergency Response Teams.
Miss Peters said the program is being held to address Volcano readiness and it is being hosted in collaboration with the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center (UWI-SRC).
She said this will be hosting the second in a series of five-day training sessions with volunteers and this time, it’s the turn of volunteers in the north leeward communities under the volcano ready communities’ project.
Miss Peters notes that the project aims to prepare communities to manage potential impacts of La Soufrière Volcano and related hazards.
Miss Peters said the training specifically seeks to improve response capacities through training and risk assessment and develop a “Volcano-Ready” framework and toolkit for communities.
Following successful completion of the project, St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be the first country in the Region to hold a “Volcano-Ready” designation.
