On Thursday 25th January 2024, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), in collaboration with multiple state agencies and the University of the West Indies (UWI), conducted a National Operational Readiness and Response Review of the 2022/23 Wet and Hurricane Seasons. This event took place at the at the Faculty of Food and Agriculture of the UWI’s St. Augustine Campus. The event provided an opportunity for agencies to report on their operations, while receiving feedback from their partner agencies on their performance, as well as areas for improvement.
The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) set the stage for the review, by providing an overview of both seasons, highlighting the disparity between 2022 and 2023, with the former being much more intense, having 31 weather alerts being issued, in comparison to 17 in 2023. The ODPM and the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) also provided presentations which laid, in general, how responses were conducted in Trinidad and Tobago respectively.
During the reflective stage, agencies also provided candid insights into their respective operations over the period, the challenges they encountered, as well as their current capacities for response. In addition, inter-agency recommendations were proposed as part of an effort to streamline overall coordination efforts prior to the issuance of an alert, response, relief to impacted communities and recovery.
In attendance at the review were representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister, Divisions of the Ministry of National Security, the Disaster Management Units (DMUs) of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, Ministry of Works and Transport, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS), Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (TTEC), Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, Global Medical Response of Trinidad and Tobago and the University of the West Indies (UWI), Faculty of Food and Agriculture.
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Ms. Shaina Khan, Regional Coordinator, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), providing welcome remarks at the Operational Review of the Readiness and Response of the 2022/23 Wet and Hurricane Seasons.
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Major General (Retired) Rodney Smart, CEO of the ODPM, delivering opening remarks to agencies, underscoring the vital importance of the review.
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Ms. Melaura Agbeko, Contingency Planning Officer, Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), presenting a summary of TEMA’s operations.
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Mr. Jerome Owen, Civil Engineer II, of the Drainage Division at the Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT), providing feedback on behalf of the Ministry.
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Ms. Paula Wellington, Senior Meteorologist, TTMS, and Mr. Jerry David, Senior Disaster Management Coordinator, Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government (MRDLG), leading a discussion on challenges faced during the 2022 and 2023 Wet and Hurricane Seasons.
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Mr. Navindra Persad, Regional Coordinator, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), providing and overview of the impacts for the 2022-2023 period, and the support provided by the ODPM to responder agencies.
Lt Cdr (Ret’d) Kirk Jean-Baptiste M.A.
Training and Education Specialist
ODPM