Dodging disasters

We are all vulnerable in this country to a host of hazards that can wreak havoc in a few short minutes. The country as a whole suffers when an incident such as a disaster or terrorist attack occurs. This cost is not just economic .

The remarkable coordination exhibited by the emergency responders in England did not come by either trial and error or by chance. The highly skilled interagency integrated effort and the continuous information that was provided to the public in addition to key stakeholders were exemplary .

We in Trinidad and Tobago will do well to learn from the experience of others. We do have very skilled and highly trained emergency response personnel within the public and private sectors. Attempts were made to ensure that fusion of their activities at the level of tactical operations was possible. However, much work needs to be done to be able to achieve the high level of coordination that was seen in London .

In 2011, a very important drill was performed in Trinidad and Tobago that identified a number of gaps. Over the years, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management in the Ministry of National Security worked feverishly to ensure that these gaps were filled. However, unfortunately, key strategic goals were not achieved and our vulnerability index remains higher than required in this regard .

The development of a risk society is fundamental to achieving the ability to empower the whole of the country or even the whole of government. We still erect critical infrastructure in highrisk, hazard-prone zones. Our appreciation of risks in Trinidad and Tobago is worrisome. We pay insurance premiums for our motor vehicles and homes. This is needed by law, eg for purchases in any financial institution .

With the current state of our economy there is a serious problem in this regard. Ministries and people who invest in disaster risk reduction are prone to reduce their expenditure, as they will not see the present value of future risks .

In Trinidad and Tobago we have spent an estimated annual average of $50-75 million on extreme events such as flooding and landslides over the past five years .

The important link between disaster risk reduction and emergency and crisis management and sustainable development has not been strengthened here in Trinidad and Tobago .

Some work has been done but not enough. Climate change, developmental and disaster risk reduction actors need to come together quickly. Together with the private sector they must develop immediate and long-term strategies for enhancing our current state of readiness for any hazard impact and for our recovery and rehabilitation after an event .

There are steps that we must take and the time is now. We cannot wait for the real live tests .

We cannot expect to have the high level of coordination that was demonstrated by our emergency brethren in London but we have been trying. Much more is needed at this time. Action is imperative to ensure that our national response framework is tested, active and highly efficient and effective. All gaps need to be filled .

We must ensure that we have a people-centred, whole-of-country, risk-based approach to hazard mitigation and emergency response planning in order to keep “jamming still” after any hazard impact, such as the recent terror attacks in England .