There is a NEED to EXERCISE. The annual national exercise day has been rebranded as “N.E.E.D.” – National Emergency Exercise Day. The intention of N.E.E.D is to test and validate the National Emergency Response Plan with the aim of engendering and promoting a culture geared towards Disaster Risk Reduction across all sectors of the country.

Tobago will join other localities in the Caribbean as a participant in a tsunami response exercise on Tuesday, March 21st, 2017. The purpose of this exercise is to evaluate local tsunami response plans, increase tsunami preparedness, and improve coordination throughout the Region.

BACKGROUND ON CARIBE WAVE

Caribe Wave is the annual tsunami exercise of the UNESCO Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions. Its major objective is for countries, emergency management stakeholders and communities at risk to test, validate and update their tsunami response plans.

The purpose of the CARIBE WAVE exercise is to improve the effectiveness the Tsunami Warning System along the Caribbean coast. The exercise provides an opportunity for emergency management organizations throughout the region to test their operational lines of communications, review their tsunami response procedures, and to promote tsunami preparedness. Regular exercises to test the response plans are essential to maintain adequate emergency preparedness.

THE NATIONAL EXERCISE DAY 2017

The National Emergency Exercise Day (NEED) is an annual Emergency Exercise intended to test and validate the National Emergency Response Plan with the aim of engendering and promoting a culture geared towards Disaster Risk Reduction across all sectors of the country.

The Office of the Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) is mandated to coordinate the execution of this exercise through its local coordinating arms such as Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) of the Tobago House of Assembly and the Disaster Management Units of the Trinidad Regional Corporations.

The exercise will, therefore, see the involvement of a wide range of emergency services inclusive of Security, Law Enforcement, Telecommunications and Transportation etc.

Tobago shares the vulnerabilities of most other Caribbean islands, therefore the frequent testing and exercising of our plan are of significant importance.

 

This is a platform for participants to test and evaluate sectorial plans and the opportunity to improve response capacity and see growth in emergency management in the community