Once more, disaster preparedness

Although a large percentage of the population was able to withstand the inclement weather from the safety and security of their homes, many others were not as fortunate. There were widespread reports of flooding across both Trinidad and Tobago, leading to massive loss of property, produce and livestock. Estimated damages were tallied to the tune of millions of dollars.

Indeed, we were fortunate that Bret was not a hurricane, or a higher category storm, because the damage would surely have been worse. The aftermath however, has once again brought into sharp focus the state of our disaster preparedness – or many will agree - the lack thereof.

The TT Chamber believes that the period just prior to the impending storm was managed quite efficiently, and the Meteorological Office, the ODPM, the Ministry of National Security and the Media ought to be commended for ensuring that information was relayed in a timely and consistent fashion. Still, there remained some gaps in the response to victims. There were reports in several areas of identified shelters remaining closed, evacuation services being unavailable, relief eff orts non-existent and low visibility of officials. These shortcomings must be quickly and comprehensively investigated and addressed by the authorities.

Large-scale coordination, evacuation, egress and relief eff orts need experienced personnel, full resources and a robust and reliable communications system, among other things. The TT Chamber certainly hopes that there will be ongoing eff orts among the various first responder agencies and auxiliary services towards improving communication and response times within the overall system. Make no mistake, in this instance, it is a matter of life and death.

Disasters are not limited to storms, earthquakes and other natural phenomena; they include crises created by indiscriminate human behaviour, or, at the very least, the negative effects of a disaster are at times made worse by our own actions. Time and again, it has been put to us that the way in which we treat with the environment is directly related to the extent of damage we suffer during a crisis, such as flooding caused by heavy rainfall.

Casual and indiscriminate disposal of waste into our waterways, unplanned and unapproved construction, failure to adhere to proper building standards, hillside and coastal destruction, illegal quarrying and improper disposal of toxic material have all contributed to making bad matters worse.

At the end of the day what is very clear is that we have been far too lax in our approach to disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction. Unfortunately our attitudes tend to reflect a considerable lack of care and concern. The thing is, disasters and disruptions are a part of life over which we do not have total control, but we as citizens and those in authority can definitely choose to be more responsible when it comes to matters such as these