The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI SRC) firmly believe that teachers play an important role in creating a culture of safety and resilience. It is for this reason that the ODPM and the UWI SRC asked Geography/Social Science Teachers from secondary schools across the country, to sacrifice their Saturday to attend a Workshop to learn more about earthquakes and tsunamis. This Ministry of Education approved workshop, was held at the Rudranath Capildeo Learning Resource Centre, Couva and focused on enhancing the knowledge that some teachers already possess about earthquakes and tsunamis while emphasising local scenarios and best practices to adopt based on our physical environment.

In his opening remarks, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the ODPM, Colonel Rodney Smart thanked the teachers who were present and assured them that they had made the right decision to attend this session. He also reminded attendees that although tsunamis are generally low frequency events in our region, they are considered high impact hazards which usually result in the loss of many lives and extensive damage to property. “We, at the ODPM firmly believe that having a nation that is informed and aware will lead to a paradigm shift in our citizens’ outlook on disasters, thus resulting in a less vulnerable populace.” Stacey Edwards, Education Officer at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre reiterated this by stating that “regular people with limited resources using simple information to save countless lives. This is the message that we hope you will carry to your students, your families and your communities.”

In light of the devastating earthquake that we have seen in New Zealand and the earthquake triggered tsunami in Japan, we as a small island developing state that is vulnerable to a multitude of hazards, must take our risk management seriously. This project, in addition to others which will be occurring in the upcoming weeks, are part of our continued efforts to build a culture of safety and resilience by adopting a comprehensive approach to disaster management.

Each individual plays an important role in increasing his/her level of preparedness therefore we remind citizens to continue using the tools and information that we provide to enhance our level of preparedness in our twin island Republic.

ENDS

Issued by:

Public Information, Education and Community Outreach Unit

For more information, please contact:

Dike Noel, Public Information Specialist

868 640 1285 ext 14240 / publicinfo.odpm@gmail.com