The Office of Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management says a review of the regulations governing how shelters are staffed and equipped is underway, to better respond to the immediate demands during disasters.
The matter came during last week’s meeting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, with Committee Chairman Julian Robinson stating that shelter managers often come under immense pressure, despite a lack of resources from the agency ahead of natural disasters.
He said MPs are then required to fill gaps and provide critical items which they are not adequately prepared to supply.
ODPEM’s Director General, Commander Alvin Gayle, said efforts are being made, in coordination with the Ministry of Local Government & Community Development, to remedy the pre-positioning issues.
“We’re already having a very keen look at the shelter regulations,” he confirmed.
He told the Committee that “outside of the season, outside of an event, the shelters are managed really through the Ministry of Local Government & Community Development. What we would have done before the start of this hurricane season would have had discussion with the municipal corporations, would have written to them, would have caused for them to conduct their own needs analysis around their particular spaces, and then revert to us with their needs list.”
He added that additional items are being pre-positioned in various locations across the island, communities, “but once this delivery cycle, which concludes on the 31st of this month… we’ll do another request out to the municipal corporations to inform us again of what are their particular needs, bearing in mind as well that the municipal corporations also have their own remit.”
It’s really sad to hear about the loss of those brothers. I wonder how their family is coping through such a difficult time.
It’s a heart-breaking situation, let us continue to pray for the family, it can’t be easy.