“Comprehensive Disaster Management Plans are only as effective as the paper they are written on”, according to Deputy National Disaster Coordinator (DNDC), Claricia Langley-Stevens, “unless they are tested and test results, evaluated,” she said.
Mrs. Langley-Stevens commented following an evacuation drill at Basseterre High School in collaboration with Fire and Rescue Services, St. Kitts-Nevis Red Cross Society and other stakeholders.
The test took place in January 2020 as part of NEMA’s ongoing Public Education and Awareness exercises that are intended to enhance national resilience in the face of impending disaster.
DNDC Langley-Stevens said that NEMA has an extensive public awareness programme that is designed in part, to enhance preparedness and response capacities especially among vulnerable populations, including school children.
“We at NEMA will play our role in any impact or disaster,” she said, “however our success in keeping persons safe is strengthened by what individuals contribute to our efforts.”