His Excellency Governor Ric Todd will meet and thank the 29 people in the TCI to have completed a new Urban Search and Rescue Course ahead of the start of the new Hurricane Season on Mon, 7 May 2012.
This course provides an entirely new dimension to the disaster response capability of the Turks and Caicos Islands ahead of the 2012 Hurricane Season which begins on 1 June. It was made possible by funding provided through UN Development Programme R3I project and the Pan American Health Association.
Emergency responders from across the public sector are the first in the country to have completed training to carry out searches in the event of collapse roof or flooded buildings, for example.
Other areas covered by the course include: first response, including first aid; mass casualty handling; search techniques; hazardous material handling; rope rescue; stress management; lifting and shoring of loads.
The first 15 people who have received the training have been drawn from across the public sector including Planning, Land and Survey, Fire & Rescue, Public Works, Red Cross, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Department of Environment and Coastal Resources, Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force and Immigration officials. Now thanks to PAHO funding a further 14 people from the Ministry of Health will complete the course too.
His Excellency Governor Todd said: “I arrived in TCI after Hurricane Irene last year, and so have never experienced a Hurricane directly myself. But I am reassured by the contents of this training course, informed greatly by the emergency response to the Haitian earthquake which happened only 90 miles away, that the Ministry of Government Support Services has this matter in hand.”
Dr Virginia Clerveaux, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Government Support Services said, “I am confident that we continue to be well prepared for any emergency, including the forthcoming hurricane season.
“I am currently working closely with our international and regional partners such as the United Nations Development Programme and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency to ensure that the country is prepared through the provision of training and public education.”
