ODPEM to Observe Hurricane Preparedness Month in May

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) will launch Hurricane Preparedness Month in May, which will seek to heighten the country’s readiness for the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane season.

Acting Director of Corporate Communication at ODPEM, Soroya Julian, told JIS News that during the month “ODPEM will advise the nation on how to prepare by conducting the necessary assessments and checks in our businesses, homes and schools.”

Ms. Julian said the observance will be marked by a number of public awareness activities.

“We will be having our usual press conference on May 1, to launch Hurricane Preparedness Month and to launch also our Disaster Preparedness Month that starts on June 1…We will also be having a media training seminar, to ensure that messages related to disaster resilience and hurricane preparedness will be accurate for the public,” she informed.

Hurricane Preparedness Month will be observed under the theme: ‘Plan for disasters in advance, give yourself a fighting chance’.

The 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins on June 1 and ends on November 30.

By Chris Patterson, JIS Reporter