In the last of this two-part series, MELISSA DOUGHTY speaks with TEMA director Allan Stewart about the way forward for disaster preparedness and management in Trinidad and Tobago.
Much like the work done by the Office of Disaster Preparedness (ODPM) in Trinidad, preparation for disasters in Tobago is undertaken by the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA).
Director of TEMA Allan Stewart said it has bought into the concept of comprehensive disaster management as outlined and boosted by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). To him, response and preparedness are two important elements in the disaster management cycle.
The agency’s role, he said, is to co-ordinate a network of agencies and individuals to direct their efforts towards the maximum preservation of life during times of disasters.
Tobago knows well the devastation caused by hydrometeorological hazards, with hurricanes Ivan in 2004 and Emily in 2005 being reminders and reinforcing the need for the comprehensive approach to disasters, Stewart said.
“Tobago has had a rich experience of being impacted consecutively by these hydrometeorological events. So that shaped the whole conversation and gave the rationale as to why volunteerism was not doing what it ought to do.”
He said during the disastrous events, over 200 people volunteered to assist, but by the end of it, people were sore and did not want to go through those experiences again.
Stewart said decided to go with the professional arm and that shaped the successes of TEMA in its response to emergencies.
These and many other events have created a steady increase in public sensitivity to disasters, and Stewart said many now have an appreciation for disaster risk.
“There is a subtle adaptation where people are adopting and want to even volunteer their services to that cause. Where communities have become better organised.”
He said there are also NGOs such as Radio Emergency Associated Communications Teams (REACT) and the Red Cross and other new entities that “really want to take a stake in this approach…”
While there has been adaptation, he thinks still needs to become a centrepiece in the country’s public investment system.
“We have not done enough.e still walk around the country and see we are still using slipper drains.
“Therefore it means that the capacity to deal with too-heavy rainfall that climate change is now producing….you have a short burst of rainfall and the place is flooded.”
He said the country’s infrastructure created concern especially “in an environment where we are seeing more concrete through the establishment of more and more buildings and more paved areas...”
He said these are now realities and more is needed to be done in terms of the public investment policy to ensure “the very, very timely news of disaster management reaches not just the corridors of the disaster offices but must be part of every single sector within government and more so
