Deaf community learns about disaster preparedness

With the hurricane season well under way, it is the responsibility of disaster preparedness agencies such as the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) to make sure that the citizens of this island, especially the most vulnerable in the population, are prepared for any impending disaster; and it is a responsibility that they are taking very seriously.

Yesterday, a training session was held for the members of the deaf and hearing impaired community on disaster management. It was conducted by Programme Officer, DEM, Danielle Skeete and included various guidelines, like steps to securing their houses; how to identify their particular neighbourhood’s susceptibility to certain phenomena like flooding or high winds for instance; and steps to better safeguard their property, for example placing more emphasis on securing windows.

They also learnt about the importance of putting together a hazard preparedness plan for their families and how they can involve the whole family in this plan; getting the right type of insurance for homes; the various items that they need to place in their hurricane preparedness kits; what items they can take with them if they have to go to a shelter and the different types of shelters that are in each parish, which includes 21 category one hurricane shelters and 51 category two shelters across the island.

With respect to the shelters, Skeete informed them that they do not need to live in a particular parish to be able to go and seek shelter there. She also let them know that the designations for the hurricanes are different from the designations for the shelters, so while there may be five categories of hurricanes, there are only two categories of shelters.

Furthermore, only the category one shelters can be used during an actual hurricane. The category two shelters are for persons to use after a hurricane has already passed the island, who still need shelter because of some damage to their homes.

In addition to the Government-instituted shelters, the Programme Officer stated that if there are any buildings in neighbourhoods that could serve as a hurricane shelter, people can call the DEM and give them the contact name and information of the owner of that property and a representative from DEM follow-up on whether that property can be made a hurricane shelter.

In this respect, she stated several churches across the country have already let DEM know that they would be willing to allow their places of worship be used as hurricane shelters, and for this she expressed thanks. (PJT)