KSAMC Hosts All Hazards Expo June 21

The Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) is inviting residents to attend the All Hazards Expo and Emergency Cook-off, scheduled for Friday, June 21 at the St. William Grant Park in downtown Kingston, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The event seeks to provide a platform for residents to engage with various agencies responsible for managing hazards.

It also aims to educate them on precautionary and mitigative actions that can help them prepare for and respond to potential disasters.

In an interview with JIS News, Coordinator, Disaster Preparedness, KSAMC, Terry Forrester, said that residents will benefit from a vast array of information, as 14 booth holders have been confirmed to participate in the expo.

Among the many booth holders are the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Jamaica Fire Brigade, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jamaica Defence Force, Earthquake Unit, KSAMC, MPM Waste Management Limited, Jamaica Red Cross, Road Safety Unit and the Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department.

“We encourage everyone to come out and learn something new. Come for the fun, leave with the knowledge – that is our tagline,” said Ms. Forrester.

She further noted that another key message being promoted is “Disaster Management is Everybody’s Business”.

“Don’t keep the knowledge to yourself, pass it on to your other community [and] family members, so that we can help in preparing our residents to be disaster responding ready, or as we would say, disaster-resilient,” Ms. Forrester added.

Ms. Forrester pointed out that the idea behind the cook-off element of the event is to showcase “innovative” ways persons can prepare meals during a disaster.

“It may be the same item that you are eating on a daily basis and, as such, finding new innovative ways to showcase [preparing] different canned items was something that we thought would be very useful to our citizens,” she said.

The cook-off will feature social media influencers Shanzi and Nino along with TC and Tollani.

Ms. Forrester also indicated that the health department has been engaged to conduct health screening and tests at the expo, as part of the ‘Know Your Numbers’ campaign.