Latest News and Advisories

Nov 5, 2024

World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024 

World Tsunami Awareness Day is celebrated today, Tuesday, November 5th, 2024. This auspicious event commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami by passing its lessons to a new generation of children and...

Oct 19, 2024

US Embassador visits the ODPM

On October 16, 2024, Ambassador Candace Bond paid a courtesy visit to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management Emergency Operations Centre at Mausica. She was accompanied by the embassy’s Chief Military Liaison Officer, Commander Richard Reyes, and other...

OVERVIEW OF THE ODPM

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) is Trinidad and Tobago’s strategic disaster management coordinating agency. It is a Division of the Ministry of National Security and our principal focus is to strengthen the nation’s ability to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover effectively from severe hazards and complex emergencies that may threaten our society. To accomplish this, we take an integrated approach to reducing disaster and climate risks and managing disaster situations, when local level capacities are overwhelmed.

Our organisation’s vision is “To become the premier regional Disaster Risk Management Organization”.

Our mission is “To build national Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) capabilities with our partners, and coordinate response and recovery operations in order to protect the people, environment and economy and ensure a disaster-resilient nation.”

To achieve our vision and mission, we take a comprehensive approach that seeks to encourage all organs of society, to participate in reducing existing disaster and climate risks, preventing new risks and managing residual risks.

The organisation comprises five (5) main units: Preparedness and Response; Mitigation Planning and Research; Public Information and Education Community Outreach; Administrative Support and Finance; and Project Management. In unison, these units collaborate with our partners, to deliver to Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region, high quality, disaster management services.

Our office also leads the National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Multi-sectoral Committee. This Cabinet appointed committee consists of representatives from the public and private sectors, and civil society organisations.

In addition, the ODPM is the national focal point for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is the global disaster risk reduction and management strategy. Similarly, we are responsible for implementing in Trinidad and Tobago, CARICOM’s regional strategy, the Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy. In line with this, the ODPM is the country’s focal point for disaster response within CARICOM’s Southern sub-region. Along with Trinidad and Tobago, the other countries within the Southern sub-region include Grenada, Guyana and Suriname.

 

The ODPM’s main areas of work include but are not limited to the following:

  • Conducting disaster risk assessments
  • Resupplying response agencies and strengthening their capacity
  • Collecting, storing, analysing and disseminating disaster risk information; and knowledge management
  • Coordinating and distributing disaster relief in support of first response agencies

 

  • Strengthening and developing policies, legislation, programmes and plans
  • Conducting Logistics, Fleet and Facility Management
  • Mainstreaming disaster and climate risk reduction into sectors
  • Conducting impact analysis and field studies
  • Hazard tracking, mapping, and monitoring
  • Coordinating National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Month’s activities
  • Strengthening Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems, and emergency telecommunications
  • Educating the public education and conducting community outreaches
  • Conducting preparedness, response and recovery planning exercises/operations
  • Managing the ODPM’s Volunteer Programme
  • Advising strategic leaders and the disaster management community
  • Conducting Regional Response and Support Operations

 

 

Disaster Operations

OUR OUTLOOK

To become a world-renowned, national disaster coordinating agency that is committed to working with our partners to develop Trinidad and Tobago into a disaster ready and resilient nation that will contribute to the nation’s and the region’s achievement of sustainable development.

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