NEMO to host hurricane awareness events

In anticipation of the upcoming hurricane season, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) is heightening its public awareness programme to help people to be better prepared for hurricanes.{{more}}

NEMO’s Hurricane Awareness Activities for 2007 commenced on Tuesday 22nd May, 2007 with a whistle stop and exhibition on the Leeward side of the Island. Today, Friday 25th May, 2007 there will be a whistle stop in Kingstown, mainly in areas such as Rose Place, Lower Edinboro and Ottley Hall. This will be followed by a whistle stop on the Windward Coast and an exhibition on the Georgetown

Playing Field on Tuesday 29th May, 2007. The main focus of the whistle stops this year will be to sensitize and distribute information on storm surge, floods and general hurricane preparedness.

On Friday 1st June, 2007 there will be a Grand Exhibition at South River Road, Kingstown. This exhibition will be staged by NEMO in collaboration with Ministries and Organizations that have a critical role in informing the public on various hazards that are posed during the hurricane season. Such Ministries and Organizations include the Forestry Division, The Environment Services Unit, the Meteorological Office, the SVG Coast Guard, the Solid Waste Management Unit and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross Society.

On Saturday 2nd June, 2007 the main focus of the activities will be on flooding in Kingstown. This will done in the form of a clean up of the South River in Kingstown which transports a vast amount of garbage generated upstream, resulting in the blockage of the drains and flooding in some areas of Kingstown during heavy periods of rainfall. The river clean up will also be done as part of activities leading up to the World Environment Day celebration on June 5, 2007.

On Tuesday 5th June 2007, NEMO will conduct a Business Continuity Planning Workshop for representatives of various departments within the Government Service. This will be followed by a similar workshop for the private sector on Wednesday 6th June, 2007.

The Hurricane Awareness Activities will climax with follow up visits by Officials of NEMO to the various departments and businesses to assist them in drafting their business continuity plans, which will seek to put plans in place to secure and protect the business or department’s resources and assets to enable them to be operational in the shortest time possible after the event of impacts by hazards or adverse events.

The Hurricane Awareness Activities is part of NEMO’s Public Awareness and Education Program and efforts to heighten awareness of natural hazards in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.