Venue: HYATT REGENCY, TRINIDAD WEST INDIES
Date: OCTOBER 28, 2009
- Minister of State, the Honourable Donna Cox
- Executive Director of CDEMA, Mr. Jeremy Collymore
- Chief Executive Officer of the ODPM, Colonel George Robinson
- CDEMA Technical Officers
- ODPM Technical Officers
- Representatives from the Stakeholder Agencies
- Specially Invited Guests
- Member of the media
- Ladies and Gentlemen
Good morning.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
As you are aware, any hazard risk reduction strategy ought to seek to minimize the impact of a hazard on people. Short onset hazards such as Tsunamis, pose a significant threat to the countries in our region and thus, it is imperative that National Disaster Management Offices in the region take urgent action to improve cooperation and access the technologies that can facilitate early warning of short onset hazards.
Trinidad and Tobago has been involved in the development of such protocols since 2006. It is in this year that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) provided assistance to the UWI Seismic Research Centre to participate in a project entitled Caribbean Tsunami Early Warning System, Communications and Protocols. The aim of this project was to improve protocols for Tsunami Warning in the Caribbean. The ODPM was pleased to be associated with this project and continues to be committed to the enhancement of all Early Warning Protocols for the region.
As you are probably aware, a tsunami warning system is a system created to detect tsunamis and issue warnings with the intention of preventing loss of life and damage to property. It consists of three (3) equally important components. These are (and in no specific order) a network of sensors to detect the earthquake and tide displacement; communications infrastructure to issue timely alarms to permit evacuation of coastal areas and a public education strategy to inform citizens on the necessary actions that must be taken and adopted.
The most important aspect of early warning systems is the actual target group for the early warning, which is the population in the endangered regions. In order to ensure that effective measures are taken with extremely short early warning times, the consciousness of the people to the vulnerability and possible preventative measures must be awakened and strengthened (Awareness) and it must be assured that in the case of an emergency, the population reacts correctly (Preparedness). This can be achieved by information sessions as well as by the constant teaching of correct and apt material in the education system. I am happy to see that this project will provide Teachers, Students and those in particularly at risk communities with well defined Tsunami and other coastal hazard warning dissemination protocols. These types of empowerment and resilience building initiatives will further allow citizens to prepare for, respond to and recover from the effects of Tsunamis and coastal hazards.
I acknowledge that as a region, we have made some strides with regards to natural hazard awareness, but I am of the firm belief that more still needs to be done. It is in this vein, that I applaud the efforts and vision of CDEMA and the partnering agencies and offer my sincerest best wishes to the participants of the various stakeholder agencies.
I end by reaffirming the TAG LINE that the ODPM has adopted. This tag line, PLAN PREPARE PRESERVE, is simple yet quite apt as we believe that by planning and preparing, the well being of our families, communities and countries, will be ultimately preserved.
Do have a productive morning.