Prime Minister Meets with National Disaster Sub-Committees

Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 6, 2023 (ZIZ Newsroom): The Ministry of National Security convened a special meeting of the National Disaster Sub-committees on Tuesday (September 5, 2023) at the headquarters of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to assess the readiness of the various sub-committees, particularly in light of increased activity in the Atlantic.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew.

It was attended by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Ms. Cecile Hull, Acting Deputy National Disaster Coordinator, Mrs. Oureika Lennon-Petty and the different sub-committee Heads.

During an interview with ZIZ News, Mrs. Lennon-Petty shared that the sub-committees are prepared year-round in the event of a major disaster.

“Well because we preach preparedness year-round because the National Disaster Sub-committees, they’re not just a Hurricane Disaster sub-committee, they are sub-committees that function year-round, and so, I would say that they remain prepared throughout the year. Preparedness is a yearly thing. It’s not just a hurricane season activity that we partake in.”

She also stated that NEMA remains in constant contact with its stakeholders.

“We are in constant contact with our stakeholders, each sub-committee has membership from public and private sector. There are 10 of them, and we meet regularly actually, we try and meet at least four times a year. But apart from that, we communicate regularly. We have a WhatsApp chat also, where we share updated weather information as well as anything hazard related, we share that in that chat. We also communicate via email and via telephone as well.”

At present, the St. Kitts Met Services and NEMA are closely monitoring Invest 95L in the mid-Atlantic Ocean.

Lennon-Petty is urging the general public to start their disaster preparedness plans if they haven’t already.”

“We are now in the peak of the hurricane season. We you expect to see more activity in the Atlantic, which means that the likelihood of us being impacted by any type of tropical cyclone increases. And so, at the time, we encourage persons to continue their disaster preparedness. If you haven’t started already, you know, your family plan, having your emergency supplies on hand, knowing when your shelters are doing your regular household checks to make sure that you stay prepared because then you don’t want to be running around standing in long lines at the last minute if we were to be impacted.”