NEMA holds evaluation meeting following tsunamic test exercises

(ZIZ News) – The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) held an evaluation session at the Frigate Bay Development Corp. Club House in Frigate Bay, following the annual Caribe Wave Exercise on Thursday, March 13 2019.

The Caribe Wave exercise is designed to establish a learning environment and test the response of players to exercise emergency response plans, policies, and procedures of various institutions.

In a brief interview with ZIZ, Public Relations Officer at NEMA, Vesta Southwell gave an overview of the exercise and said the risk of tsunamis in the Caribbean is real and should be taken seriously.

She explained why this year’s testing focused on the Frigate Bay area.

Southwell then spoke in detail about the benefits of conducting the test exercise in this particular area.

In St Kitts and Nevis, the National Tsunami Warning Focal Point (TWFP) is the Telecomms Unit of the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force. This agency is responsible for the dissemination of the corresponding warning messages for SKN according to established protocols.

The Exercise Plan was produced at the direction of the Deputy National Disaster Coordinator with assistance from the Caribe Wave Exercise Planning Team.

The Exercise Support Team comprised National Disaster Coordinator, Abdias Samuel, Deputy National Disaster Coordinator, Claricia Langley Stevens, Police Telecomms, Dehaan Henry and Ministry of Health Department of Physical Planning representative Timothy Martin.