The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) will release a suite of multi- hazard public education materials in preparation for the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. These include a number of public service announcements, infographics, posters and a colouring book on floods, landslides, earthquakes and tsunamis. The public service announcements were produced locally by the National Emergency Management Organisation in collaboration with Communication Specialist Theresa Daniel.
According to Director of NEMO, Michelle Forbes, the suite of Public Education Materials was produced as part of efforts to strengthen the Multi-hazard Early Warning System (EWS) capability and infrastructure of the National Emergency Management Organisation. This initiative was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), through Funding from The European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) to strengthen EWS in the region, ‘Prepare Caribbean’.
Forbes further stated that the public education materials will be used in NEMO’s Hurricane Preparedness Campaign to heighten the awareness of Vincentians on some of the most common hazards that are likely to impact St. Vincent and the Grenadines, especially during the hurricane season. She is also encouraging residents to make it a priority to prepare for the 2020 Hurricane Season which will commence on June 01. The Colorado State University and other agencies have predicted that the 2020 Hurricane Season would be a rather active one. This includes a forecast for 16 named tropical storms, eight of which will develop into hurricanes, and four expected to reach the destructive “major” hurricane category.
According to Forbes; “We will enter the hurricane season while also focusing on the COVID-19 response.” She is encouraging families to inspect their property, do the necessary repairs and ensure that their family emergency and all insurance plans are updated, in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season, even while practicing social distancing at home.
The suite of public education materials will was launched online via NEMO’s Facebook and Website on Friday 8th May, 2020