CDC boosts disaster response

With continued efforts to boost disaster response management across the country, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) on Monday handed over a quantity of gear to the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
Leading the distribution was the Director General of the CDC, Major Kester Craig, who emphasised on the work that was done over the past year, which included training of several persons from both regions in the area of Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA).
Taking that into consideration, it is expected that the provision of the gear and

tools will prepare the individuals who were taught.
“The whole aim is to have them respond to any incident and gather information, which helps the Commission to make informed decisions. So today, we want to hand over the tools and equipment that are necessary to carry out these functions. Once this equipment has been handed over, we expect that if anything happens, your team can go out and do the damage assessments,” Craig underscored.
The Director General explained that the Commission remained committed to building Guyana’s disaster risk management capabilities through stakeholder engagements. Plans for 2019 include working to complete the Regional Risk Assessment Report and Regional Multi-Hazard Preparedness and Response Plan for Region Four.
“This is in an effort to build resilience at the regional level so as to reduce disaster risk through enhanced preparedness and response capabilities. The completion of the plan will give the Region the independence to manage its own disaster planning and resilience, and will help to guide how every unit, every agency that falls within the Region would be able to respond to any disaster or emergency,” he said.
Regional Vice Chairman Earle Lambert pointed out that the country is below sea-level, and preparedness was important in response to disasters.