MEDIA RELEASE

     PIPARO RESIDENTS ENGAGE IN 3D TABLE TOP EXERCISE

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), a Division of the Ministry of National Security conducted a 3D community tabletop exercise on Saturday 7^th December 2019 at the Piparo Community Centre. The exercise supported ongoing discussions and the testing of the evacuation procedures and emergency response plans with residents in the event of an eruption of the mud volcano.

The community tabletop exercise follows previous tabletop exercises held on Thursday 14^th November 2019 and Wednesday 20^th November 2019, in which key response and support agencies and a representative of the Village Council simulated a day and night eruption of the Piparo Mud Volcano. 

Through this exercise, Piparo residents were able to collaborate and provide feedback on ways to better improve the emergency evacuation plan and establish solutions to concerns raised using a 3D Model of the physical representation of the Piparo Mud Volcano and environs. The community and ODPM representatives also discussed community alerts and warnings, response and evacuation, search and rescue, air operations, security, traffic management, medical response, recovery and shelter management operations. 

Attending the community meeting were representatives of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government’s Disaster Management Unit of the Princes Town Regional Corporation; ODPM’s Regional Coordinator and Exercise Director, Mr. Eric Mackie; ODPM’s Planning and Development Officer, Mr. Anwar Baksh; ODPM’s Regional Coordinator, Mr Navindra Persad and residents. 

Through continuous collaboration with residents, the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government and other response and support agencies, the ODPM has made great strides in building the resilience of the Piparo Community through sharing and preparing.

Photos and Captions

Photo and Caption 1: ODPM’s Regional Coordinator and Exercise Director, Mr. Eric Mackie (L), discusses the elements of the 3D model of the mud volcano with residents.

Photo and Caption 2: ODPM’s Regional Coordinator, Mr Navindra Persad responds to questions from a resident about the 3D model of the mud volcano.

Photo and Caption 3: A resident asks questions about the proposed evacuation route utilising the 3D model of the mud volcano and environs to the ODPM representatives. 

To download the full version of the media release please click here

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Issued by:

Public Information, Education and Community Outreach Unit

For further information, please call:

ODPM’s Customer Call Centre 800-6376/ 640-1285/ TEMA’s Hotline 211