The Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) has announced that a national emergency exercise is deep in the planning stages for the first quarter of this year.
Director Billy Darroux said the Government of Montserrat has initiated the exercise to test the response of all national emergency agencies including the police and fire services, health centres and the MVO; as well as non-governmental agencies, which provide support before and during disasters.
Darroux added that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is still developing the exercise scenario which will be conducted over several days with the help of the DMCA and Richard Aspin in the Governor’s Office.
“The goal is to test our national response and find any gaps that need to be plugged,” the official said. “Montserrat has continued to strengthen its disaster preparedness with the support of regional agencies and this is another element of that process.”
Montserrat has been in recent years have been afforded a lead role in disaster preparedness planning in the region. According to the planners, there will be officials from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), and from the disaster agencies on the Dutch and French Antilles along with observers from various agencies
Efforts to make residents aware of the exercise will already be in place once it has been initiated. Different players will have roles to play throughout the process to ensure realism and to provide feedback on their interactions with the relevant departments.
