On Sunday 13th October 2019, the world commemorates the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) division of the Ministry of National Security, is taking the opportunity to raise national awareness of the need for constant preparedness and vigilance to the occurrence of hazards and conditions, which have the potential to expose our society to disasters.
The theme for 2019 is “Reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services”, which places emphasises on the fourth of the seven targets of the Sendai Framework for global disaster risk reduction.
The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction encourages individuals and societal groups to actively participate in identifying and reducing vulnerabilities, while developing the capacity to manage disasters at the national and community levels.
According to the ODPM media release the ability to continue after a disaster with as little distress as possible, depends on the preparedness of our citizens as well as the public and private sector managers of our critical infrastructure.
While T&T made strides in strengthening sectors such as finance, electricity, communications, public health, and the supply of water, more can be done by everyone – Disaster risk reduction is certainly everyone’s responsibility. In this regard, the ODPM will continue collaborating and working assiduously to improve national disaster resilience through preparation, prevention, response and relief initiatives.
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