CATEGORY:DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ----------------------------------- INSIDE GRENADA Friday March 30,2007 by Rawle Titus ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada: New state of the art equipment for early detection of natural disasters is now in the hands of the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA). The equipment, made-up of, among other things, a computer and a satellite receiver, is known as the Emergency Managers Weather Information Network ( EMWIN). Two sets of equipment were handed over to Nadma’s Communications Officer Jerry Lewis and Hubert White of the Point Salines Met Office. They, along with representatives from, St. Kitts, Dominica, Antigua and St. Lucia, have just returned to the region after attending a one-week first of its kind course in Florida to learn how to operate EMWIN. Nadma’s Communications Officer Jerry Lewis says it’s a major boost for Disaster Management in Grenada. “Persons involved in Disaster Management will be able to make the necessary provisions. The general public on the whole will have the time to put things in place due to these early warnings” Lewis said. “And it will be first hand information and it will be very accurate. The relevant authority will also be able to take the necessary decisions depending on the magnitude of the disaster”. EMWIN is a gift from the Florida based National Weather Service, organizers of the workshop. It’s being described as a priority driven computer weather warning and data broadcast system providing rapid dissemination of warnings, forecasts, graphics and imagery. It means Grenada’s response to severe weather and other threats would be faster, improving the likelihood of sparing lives and property.