Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697800260101.pdf (Dominica)
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ODM NEWSLETTER DISASTER FACTS AND TIDBITS OFFICE OF DISASTER MANAGEMET VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 JULY 26, 2021 APRIL—JUNE 2021 HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK The Office of Disaster Management (ODM) observes Hurricane Preparedness Week in the final week of May.
This is an annual event when the ODM, in collabo- ration with key stakeholders, focuses on increasing public awareness on hydro- meteorological hazards in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Hurricane Preparedness Week 2021 ….………....…….….…1-2 USSOUTHCOM Strengthens Capacity in DRR ………...……...….3 Dominica’s Support to St Vincent …..…….…………....4-5 Emergency Communications Training .....………………………….6-7 ODM’s Gallery—Building Capacity ……….………………...…….8 Following the devastation of Dominica by Category 5 Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the projection for the development of more intense tropical cyclones due to Climate Variability and Change, the need to ensure that the public is regularly sensitized about hurricane hazards and preparedness remains paramount.
This year, as part of the activities for Hurricane Preparedness Week from May 24 to 30, the ODM gave centre stage to the work and support of Regional Specialist Organizations in the fields of Weather Forecasting, Climate Change and Disaster Management.

The organizations that supported this initiative were The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the National Hurricane Centre (NHC).
The NHC is the organization responsible for tropical cyclone moni- toring, forecast and warning for the Caribbean in collaboration with regional meteorological and hydrological services.

Mr. Graham believes that “…It’s all about the mission of protecting lives and property.

I’m excited to participate in all these pre-season activities, because I know we are helping people get ready for whatever the next hurricane season might bring”.
Principal of CIMH, Dr. David Farrell, in his presentation noted that “collaboration among key stakeholders, including the Media, Disaster Managers and Met Services is critical, speaking with one voice to ensure that the right message reaches the public and to build trust of warning agencies by the public”.

Ken Graham, Director of NHC Dr. David Farrell, Principal of CIMH Building disaster risk knowledge is essential to an effective early warning system STAY INFORMED.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF PARTICIPANTS DURING HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK Given that we are operating in the COVID 19 Pandemic environment, most of the engagements for the week took on a virtual for- mat.

Presentations were well supported by the public who expressed appreciation for the wealth of knowledge and preparedness information provided by the facilitators.

A cross section of the participants are highlighted below.
Mandela Christian, Programme Officer at the ODM, facilitated a presentation on the Regional Response Mechanism through CDEMA.

Ken Graham, Director of the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) facilitated a presentation on hurricane monitoring, forecast, warn- ing and preparedness on May 26, 2021.

Exercise Stormy Weather 2021 - A virtual Hurricane Simulation was executed on May 27.
One of the Objectives was to test the protocols of the NEPO sub in prepara- -committees tion for and response to a hurricane impact amid the pandemic environment 2 STAY INFORMED.

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United States Strengthens Dominica’s Disaster Response through Donation of Medical Field Hospital and Training The United States donated a field hospital valued at approximately US$640,000 to the Government of Dominica.
As a part of the donation, the U.S. manufacturer of the field hospital trained personnel from Dominica's Ministry of Health, the Office of Disaster Management (ODM), the Dominica Fire and Ambulance Services and the Dominica Cadet Corps on the setup and use of the field hospital at the Dominica Botanic Gardens.

The hospital was purchased by U.S. Southern Command through the Humanitarian Assistance Program (USSOUTHCOM HAP).
The field hospital includes five medical tents and one administration tent that can be connected, a 70 KVA generator, an air condition- ing system, sinks, a water purification and distribution system, and 40 hospital beds.

Interior view of the 40 bed field hospital.


“The field hospital will provide additional capacity to Dominica's health system in the event of a natural disaster and is part of the U.S. government's ongoing assistance to nations responding to the pandemic,” said U.S. Embassy Bridgetown’s Chief of Security Cooperation, Lt Col Shane Moran.
Mr. Fitzroy Pascal, the National Disaster Coordinator, noted that “This initiative is in-keeping with the ODM’s goal to integrate Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) in our key sectors.

The Health Sector will benefit tremendously from this donation as it provides redundancy and additional capacity to our health infrastructure.

We are grateful to the US Government for this gen- erous donation, and to the instructor and participants of this training programme”.
Twenty-three (23) participants benefitted from this training programme.

Mr. Matthew Prosper, Station Officer of the Dominica Fire and Ambulance Services, who was a participant at the training in his remarks indicated that “The workshop is a great programme.

After the instructor leaves, the onus is on us to setup and maintain the facility.

We are grateful for this training, it is interesting, fun and we are learning a lot”.
This donation builds on the longstanding partnership between the United States and Dominica.

Through regional workshops, best practice exchanges and the ongoing construction of emergency operations centers and disaster relief warehouses in Castle Bruce and Portsmouth, the United States is committed to Dominica’s hurricane preparedness and supporting a coordinated emergency response.
Aerial view of the field hospital assembled at the Botanic Gardens during training Participants who were trained in assembling and disassembling of the field hospital.

3 STAY INFORMED.

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Standing in Solidarity with St Vincent—Dominica’s support during the La Soufriere Eruption Caribbean people are known to support our sister islands whenever a distress call is sound- ed.
Dominica is no stranger to hazard impact having suffered devastating impacts from major Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Therefore, it was only natural that when the La Soufriere Volcano began explosive eruption on April 8, 2021, the Government and people of Dominica stood ready to provide support to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The ODM, through the National Emergency Planning Organization (NEPO), supported coordination of the relief operations.

A Dominica/St.
A Dominica/St.

Vincent Evacuees and Relief Management Plan was drafted by the ODM intended to guide the process.

Dominicans showed an outpouring of support exempli- fied through numerous calls to the hotline that was established to provide assistance to potential evacuees from St. Vincent to Dominica.
Along with the pledges, public and private sector organizations, disaster committees, faith based organizations and individuals rallied to send food, water and other necessities to assist in meeting the needs of Vincentians.

On April 12, 2021, the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica shipped 14 pallets- seven hundred (700) cases of bottled water to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Another three hun- dred and fifty-two (352) cases of water was shipped on April 13 and 40,000 gallons on April 15 in partnership with DOWASCO.

The ODM appreciates the support provided by partner agencies and volunteers to man the then 24-hour hotline at the ODM including IOM and CARITAS (humanitarian arm of the Catholic Church) and the Fire and Ambulance Services.
Dominicans are reminded that they should also have plans in place to respond should the island experience significant volcanic activity, given that Dominica has nine (9) live volcanoes.

Visit the ODMs website: www.odm.gov.dm for volcanic hazard preparedness information.

Supplies such as water and food items shipped from Dominica to St Vincent during the La Soufriere Eruption in Aril 2021.

(Source of images-ODM) 4 STAY INFORMED.

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DOMINICA’S SUPPORT TO ST VINCENT Supplies packed and shipped to St Vincent during the La Soufriere Eruption in Aril 2021.

(Source of images-ODM) Reminder of the Volcano Alert Levels Dominica has nine (9) potentially active volcanoes.

The Alert Level for Dominica at this time is GREEN.

Volcano Alert Level Chart.

Source UWI-SRC 5 STAY INFORMED.

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Emergency Communications Training for the Northern Disaster District The Office of Disaster Management conducted Emergency Communications Training Workshops for the Northern Disaster District.

The training covered the four day period from June 21 – 24, 2021 for 2 groups of participants at the Cabrits National Park Conference Facility.

On June 21-22 training targeted participants from Savanne Pille/ Tantan, Portsmouth, Capuchin and Cottage.
On June 23-24 training targeted participants from Penville, Vielle Case, Bense, Borne, Paix Bouche, Dublanc, and Bio- che.

Participants from Day 1 Training in Emergency Radio Communications The training workshop was funded by the Government of Canada—Global Affairs Canada (GAC), under the project titled “Establishment of a Community Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Capuchin and a Communications System to link Capu- chin and other West Coast Communities to the national EOCs.
The training workshop was facilitated by Sergeant Joseph Raymond of the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force and the staff of the ODM.
Topics covered in the training included Emergency communication protocols, Regulations and License condi- tions, Components of the radio equipment and Basic radio operations This activity is in-keeping with the Dominica Country Work Programme (CWP) 2021- 2025, Outcome 1.3: Improved Operational Readiness, Output 1.3.2: The emergency response communications system is resilient and redundant.

It is also in-keeping with the Dominica Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan (CRRP) 2020-2030 Climate Resilience.
Source of images: ODM Participants engrossed in demonstration by Sergeant Joseph Raymond (trainer) 6 STAY INFORMED.

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Northern District Disaster Committee members trained in Emergency Communication Group 1 participants (Savanne Tantan, Portsmouth, Pille/ Capuchin received their certificates in Emergency Radio Communica- tion and Cottage) Group 2 participants (Penville, Vielle Case, Bense, Borne, Paix Bouche, Dub- lanc, and Bioche) received their certificates in Emergency Radio Communi- cation Emergency Communication Training facilitators L-R– Craig Fabien and Malcom Christian—Logistics support; Sergeant Raymond Joseph—Trainer.
Inadequate emergency communications are inconven- ient at best and catastrophic at worst (Techwholesale) 7 STAY INFORMED.

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ODM’s Gallery– Building Capacity ODM facilitated workshop for the Portsmouth (North) District Disaster Committee Personnel from the UWI Seismic Research Centre (SRC) effecting repair works to the seismic station at Scotts Head.
Building District Disaster Management Committees — Portsmouth (North District) Executive Committee Source of images: ODM Maintenance Work at the La Plaine Seismic Station Contact the Office of Disaster Management for your preparedness support Website: odm.gov.dm Email: odm@dominica.gov.dm Tel: (767) 448-7777 / 618 – 4412 facebook.com/ODMDominica1 8