ALL Chairpersons of National Disaster Committees have been directed to report to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) at NEMA HQ, for initial briefing at 5pm today, Tuesday, September 5th. The NEOC was activated by Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris earlier today, upon recommendation of Deputy Prime Minister, Hon Shawn Richards.
The NEOC was inspected this morning by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Andrew Skerritt and Minister Richards, upon invitation from Deputy NDC, Mrs. Claricia Langley-Stevens.
“Because of the role of the NEOC in Disaster Management,” Mrs. Stevens said, “the facility is kept in a state of readiness, except for perishable goods and any item that is not deemed necessary until the room is populated.”
Mrs. Stevens says that there are operating protocols and guidelines for the running of the NEOC and that those have been initiated.
“Despite the dangerous characteristics associated with Hurricane Irma,” she said, “this provides a unique opportunity for our disaster management fraternity to test our capacity to respond in a real event.”
Vesta I. Southwell
Public Relations Officer
