By Wallace J.A

PARACLETE, St.Andrew's: On Thursday March 23, 2006, officials from NaDMA (National Disaster Management Agency) met with residents from the various villages throughout St.Andrew’s NW at the Paraclete Government School. The purpose of the meeting was to elect persons from the area onto the Disaster Sub- committees for the district.

The meeting was well attended and before the election of officers to serve on the sub-committees was held, the Community Programs Officer, Ms. Denise Guy, informed those in attendance of the roles and responsibilities of the individual committee members. The election exercise yielded the following results:

Ø Disaster coordinator for the district: Ms.L. Waldron and Mr.G.Alexander, deputy coordinator.
Ø Health and Welfare Manager: Ms.S Williams and Mrs. C John, deputy manager.
Ø Supplies Manager: Mrs. S Nyack and Mrs. S. Lowhar, deputy manager.
Ø Shelter Manager: Mrs. M. Francis and Ms. P. Hillarie, deputy manager.
Ø Damage and Needs Assessment Manager: Mr. R.Allard and Mr. T Noel, deputy manager.
Ø Telecommunications Manager: Mr. W Beggs and Ms. D. Peters, deputy manager.
Ø Emergency Works and Transport Manager: Mr. J. Farray and Mr. Holas, deputy manager.
Ø Public Education and Information Manager: Mrs. D. Thomas and Mr. C. Alexander, deputy manager.
Ø Safety and Security Manager: Mr. D. Thomas and Ms. C. Alexander, deputy manager.

NaDMA intends to provide training for the elected members in various aspects of disaster management and mitigation sometime in the near future. This is part of the Agency’s overall strategy in ensuring that the nation is adequately prepared to deal with any natural disaster in the future. Over the past two years, Grenada has been hit by two catastrophic hurricanes: Ivan in 2004 and Emily in 2005. The 2006 hurricane season should officially commence in June. NaDMA is working to ensure that all the necessary structures are in place before June 01, 2006.