Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Wil Pineau of the Chamber of Commerce; H. E the Governor Stuart Jack; Hon George McCarthy, Chief Secretary; and Leader of Government Business, Kurt Tibbetts.

All newly constructed Government buildings including schools from now on will automatically become hurricane shelters, Leader of Government Business Hon. Kurt Tibbetts told business leaders on Monday, 10 July.

Speaking at a preview of the new Cayman Islands hurricane plan at the Grand Cayman Marriott Resort, Mr Tibbetts said his administration has a strong commitment to managing the risks.

"All new Government buildings, including new schools will be built as multi-purpose hurricane standard buildings that can double as shelters in the event of a storm," he said.

"With a population standing at almost 50,000 it is imperative that we make accommodation to take safe shelter during such occasions."

According to the National Hurricane Committee (NHC), the Cayman Islands could only accommodate about 10,000 people in shelters during this hurricane season. 

The living plan, as he called it, would also cover the Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and
Little Cayman and could be modified to meet new changes and lessons of the coming years.

At the Civic Centre in Cayman Brac will be the backup system for the Cayman Islands www.gov.ky and www.caymanprepared.ky websites, according to Mr Tibbetts.

Radio and telecommunications systems, which experienced minor interruptions during Hurricane Ivan in 2002, have been beefed up with technicians being able to make repairs remotely.

Mr Tibbetts said the system functioned "remarkably robust" during the hurricane but needed to be excellent for communications between the police, prison, government offices, Public Works Department and the Emergency Medical Services.

"Although some of the recovery activities are continuing even today, it's still our responsible to ensure a more established capability is in place before another Ivan strikes these Islands," he said.

Another major investment by this Administration is in a high-tech communication system, which links the main operations at the Citrus Grove office to the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) near the airport.

The system consists of a direct two-way video and audio conference link, which provides the Governor and other officials housed at Citrus Grove to access up-to-the-minute storm information from the EOC.

In the event that telecommunications fail, officials could communicate via satellite phones that were recently purchased as part of disaster preparations.

Mr Tibbetts also outlined Government's strategy for providing information locally, regionally and internationally while announcing the role of the Joint Communications Service of the NHC.

The service comprises the Government Information Service personnel and representatives from Department of Tourism and the Portfolio of Finance, which will be the main source of dissemination of information.

He also said that a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) would soon be established to write a national emergency plan to cover all possible natural and man-made disasters.

NEMA, which will provide expertise on disaster mitigation, will also be charged with advising Government on revamping building codes, increased seaside setbacks and designing flood prone zones.

He stressed that NEMA would not replace the NHC, which remains in charge of crisis management.

Mr Tibbetts told about 500 members of the business community in attendance that it was important to have the Islands operational in the shortest period.

"It's critical that the Cayman Islands increase its capability to recover from the effects of hurricanes and other disaster situations," he said.

"The Cayman Islands Government learnt some valuable lessons during the recovery operations following Ivan and many of the experiences we had during that trying period."

In his address to the meeting, H.E the Governor, Stuart Jack, said preparedness belonged to everyone and he called for better dialogue between the public and private sectors on the subject.

He urged the private sector to be proactive in its preparations, advising them to ensure that their staff were onboard with their disaster plans.

He urged residents to take charge of their preparations, saying all should play their part as the Government was doing its share in disaster mitigation.

"We're all in this," he said. "Government will do what it can to assist every family, every business."

Mr Jack said the UK had drawn up a detailed contingency document with which security and assistance would be provided in a timely and adequate manner in the aftermath of a storm.

He said that adequate resources would be provided to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service and security reinforcement would be forthcoming from the UK if needed after a storm.

He said that a quick decision mechanism was in place and rapid response teams would be ready for deployment under improved arrangements for the British Territories.

He said the rapid response teams and support could come from either those stationed at offices in Europe or North America.

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