Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, October 16th, 2015 (DDME) - When disasters strike will TCI’s first response agencies be able to handle a large scale emergency requiring a multiagency response? Can the agencies needed to coordinate this multiagency disaster effectively coordinate and share resources? How long can the staff of any one agency sustain a 24hour/ 7 days a week EOC? What are the roles and responsibilities of responding agencies in the National EOC? Where will the extra resources come from to effectively operate an EOC? These are some of the questions that national response agencies often seek answers to. One method to find the solutions to these questions is for agencies to train together so that they learn to share both personnel and resources before a disaster strikes.
From Monday, October 19th to Wednesday, October 21st the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), will be hosting an intensive three-day National Training Workshop held at the Blue Haven Resort, Providenciales, from 8:30am to 4:30pm daily. Participants will be coached by Mr. Keith Holman from the South Florida Emergency Management Department.
The NEOC serves as a centralized location where public safety, emergency response and support agencies involved in a national response can provide interagency coordination and executive decision-making in support of incident planning, preparedness, response and recovery activities. As such, this workshop is geared towards persons who are expected to report to the National EOC to respond to a disaster event and aims to increase the resilience of Sub Committee Chairs, Deputy Chairs and other Emergency Agencies to effectively deal with disasters and emergencies that may negatively impact the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Participants will be provided with information on the effective operations of an Emergency Operations Center, whether at the national, island or agency level and an understanding of the primary EOC functions and essential activities, including communication links, activation and demobilization, staffing issues and managing operational information. Participants will also learn key management processes required to effectively and efficiently operate an EOC. Attendees will be exposed to experiences and skill-sets that would allow them to collaboratively respond to an emergency event requiring the activation of the National EOC.
EOC training is necessary to increase the capacity of response agencies to carry out this function through appropriate training and will provide an opportunity for agencies to work closely together to manage a large-scale simulated disaster improving the resilience of the country to disaster events through collaborated efforts. It is expected that the skills, best practices, knowledge and institutional arrangements conveyed during this training will allow for effective cooperation and coordination among disaster management agencies and associated stakeholders in the TCI at both the national and island level.
This EOC training is a continuation of the strong cooperation developed between DDME and the other response and recovery agencies which form the core of the national disaster management system in the TCI.