St. Mary to Observe Disaster Preparedness Month With Several Activities

Several activities have been planned by the St. Mary Disaster Committee in observance of Disaster Preparedness Month (June).
The events, which were officially launched during a function held at the St. Mary Parish Library in Port Maria on June 9, include educational talks in schools throughout the parish, the mounting of a month-long exhibition at the parish library, a training seminar in First Aid Administration at the Port Maria Civic Centre on June 16, a training seminar for Emergency Operators at the Port Maria Civic Centre on June 21, a hurricane precaution training seminar for business persons at the Port Maria Civic Centre on June 22, and the staging of simulation exercises in Port Maria on June 29.
Myrnel Grant, Parish Disaster Co-ordinator for St. Mary told JIS News that the activities have been carefully planned to ensure the participation of as much persons as possible, in order to ensure that the disaster mitigation efforts in the parish are given the necessary support.
This, she said was very important, particularly in view of the fact that “we are now in the hurricane season with its potential to cause disasters”.
Turning to the state of disaster preparedness in St. Mary, Miss Grant said every effort was being made to ensure that the parish was as prepared as possible to deal with such occurrences.
Miss Grant noted that all 13 zonal disaster committees were currently being mobilised to respond to possible eventualities, adding that the parish disaster committee was also in the process of identifying emergency shelters, which were in need of repairs, in order to have them upgraded. She noted that the committee would be seeking to increase the amount of such facilities serving the parish.
She implored residents of the communities to become members of the zonal committees to serve their respective areas, and noted that the St. Mary Disaster Committee was also willing to assist the residents of the parish to develop disaster mitigation plans for their homes, workplaces and communities.