Seabridge woes overshadow Amcham workshop

Speaking at the workshop on private sector disaster resilience, Tewarie said one of the major challenges to relief agencies during times of crisis is the transport of much-needed supplies to hard hit areas.

“Yesterday (Wednesday) this workshop was held in Tobago and overshadowing the event was problems on the seabridge. Crucial to the success of any relief operation following a disaster, is the ability to get supplies to those areas affected the most,” Tewarie said.

He added that in addition to close partnering of private and public stakeholders during emergencies, open supply routes are also important in ensuring that relief efforts were focused and well coordinated.

“One broken link in our chain of response can disrupt our entire operation in getting relief and aid to areas that have been hardest hit by disasters and I would like to stress the importance of close communications between our public and private agencies that are providing relief efforts, so that responses are well organized and effective in containing and managing disaster responses.” Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Ronald Jackson further emphasized the importance of transporting supplies and emergency personnel to disaster areas and urged government and the business community to join hands and lead the way in more proactive disaster response programmes