NEMO wraps up multi-hazard training in Union Island today

The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) in collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency Coordinating Unit (CDEMA CU) is today,June 7, 2024, wrapping up a week of Multi-Hazard public awareness activities in Union Island.

The activities commenced with a meeting of key stakeholders on Monday June, 3, 2024 to discuss existing and emerging Emergency Management and Disaster Risk Reduction issues on Union Island. This meting also included a presentation from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Services on the 2024 Hurricane season, the ongoing dry spell and implications for the health and well-being of residents.

Disaster risk reduction presentations to all schools took place on Tuesday and Wednesday with a primary focus on Geological Hazards, the ongoing dry spell, the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, as well as the National Tsunami Programme. As part of the activities, NEMO also supported the Union Island District Disaster Committee to host a community meeting in Ashton on Tuesday June 4, and in Clifton on Wednesday June 5, 2024. A Hurricane preparedness public awareness community drive through/whistlestop, and a community emergency response equipment training at Clifton, followed by a visit to Palm Island to orient persons on the various components of the island’s vulnerability and the emergency management structure that is in place also were among the week’s other activities.

Elections for members to serve on the new executive of the Union Island District Disaster Committee also were held, and the newly elected committee will be part of a team visiting Petit St. Vincent and Carriacou today June 7, 2024, to discuss emergency management procedures.

The Union Island multi-hazard public awareness week of activities is funded by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Building the Resilience of the CARICFORUM States to Disaster Risks and Climate Change Impacts (BRICS) Project, financed by the European Union, EDF 11. The week of activities also is part of Activity 3: Project – Strengthening the National Tsunami Early Warning System in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (NEMO).