Give NEMA resources

But, in a discussion last week at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) office, NEMA officials made it clear that this country is not prepared for any sort of natural disaster.

This will hardly surprise anyone. When Hurricane Ivan devastated Grenada, Trinidad just got the tail lash of heavy rains. Yet that was sufficient to show how unprepared NEMA was to coordinate even a minimal response — just getting people to designated shelters was problematical, while the issue of basic supplies never even made the table.

Other events have demonstrated a similar lack of forethought from various authorities.

The landslides on the North Coast road last year made it impassable for days. Nobody seemed to have any idea that such a thing could happen, even though minor landslides had been occurring for years. And, although the debris was cleared in relatively short order, little was done to ensure that such landslides would not occur again. The hillside has been graded, but no reinforcements have been put up nor does there appear to be a programme to plant vegetation to bind the soil.

Then there is the perennial issue of flooding. With the rainy season upon us for yet another year, the authorities in Port-of-Spain and in the Central region still have no concrete solutions underway, although ex-Works Minister Franklin Khan made a grandiose promise that flooding would be eased within the next few years.

But the outstanding example of a lack of foresight is, of course, the Port-of-Spain fire that razed the People’s Mall and adjoining businesses in April. Here was a situation where the Prime Minister, by his own admission, knew that a crucial system, the hydrants, was non-functional and who had known so for over four years. Yet, so focused was he on 2020 that he apparently could not be bothered with preceding years.

Now the Government is floating the idea of forming a new body to deal with disasters. But, says NEMA’s chairman Dr Myron Chin, a new organisation isn’t needed. What is needed is for NEMA to be given resources. Staff, it appears, would be a good start.

And there is the matter of equipment — nothing fancy like a tsunami early warning system. Just some walkie-talkies for NEMA would be nice. Because, without even going into all the issues of infrastructure, the fact is that, in the event of a disaster, NEMA is the coordinating agency between various arms of the State — and without them, there will be the kind of chaos that will surely lead to the unnecessary loss of lives.

Making NEMA effective is not a difficult task. Even putting essential preventative measures in place is possible within three years. The true obstacle here is the unwillingness or the inability of the people in charge to think ahead. Will it take a few hundred dead to rouse them from their torpor?