The Risk of Your Beautiful Seaside Home

A storm surge is just what it sounds like: water that is pushed towards the shore by the force of the winds swirliing around a cyclone (hurricane, storm). Storm surge can climb above 18ft in a matter of minutes, travel far inland and flood vast areas of low lying land.

If your property is close to the coast and you have a nice bathing beach with a gently sloping shore and swimming water that is not deep or does not drop off suddenly, then chances are you could be affected by storm surge. Find out if there is a storm surge planning map for your area and talk to the older folk about how far the sea normally travels in times of hurricane.

You should take action to mitigate your risk and loss:

• Before constructing your property near the coast consult on the vulnerability and risk of the particular area to storm surge and the frequency of the event.


• If your area is susceptible, consult with an engineer about what type of constructon would be needed to withstand the worse case scenario.


• The choice is then with you - either take the risk or spend additional money up front on construction to withstand hing waves.


• If it is available buy storm surge insurance.


• If you are in a storm surge zone then evacuate well ahead of the approach of a storm or hurricane.

As always be prepared! http://www.cdera.org/

What to do in an Earthquake

Except for pictures on the News Barbadians have lived unaffected by Earthquakes. When Barbados experienced a tremor late last year most people did not understand what was happening. Earthquakes are caused by the movement of plates (huge slabs of rock) making up the surface of the Earth. In volcanic islands, earthquakes may also be caused by the movement of magma beneath a volcano.

The Seismic Research Unit of the University of the West Indies has issued some personal safety guidelines which we should pay attention to now in case we are caught ib another such event whether inside or outside Barbados:

• stay calm, do not panic, be alert
• if inside stay inside, do not run out of the building
• if inside stand in a strong doorway or get under a sturdy desk, table or bed and hold on
• do not use elevators or stairs
• move away from windows, mirrors, glass doors, pictures, bookcases, hanging plants and heavy objects
• if outside and there are no obvious signs of danger nearby, stay there
• if outside, stay away from glass buildings, electricity poles and bridges
• if in a car do not stop on or under a bridge
• always look out for falling plaster, bricks, lighting fixtures and other objects

For more information on earthquakes contact http://www.uwiseismic.com/

Light Search and Rescue

The St. Philip DEOs continued their training at the Princess Margaret School. This evening Mr. Carlos Bishop from the Barbados Fire Service conducted the session. He was one of the first fire officers to enter the site at Arch Cot in Barbados rescue and recovery effort. Mr. Bishop had a great deal of practical and technical assistance. The class room was full and members particpated enthusiastically in the session.

In addition to taking in the lecture members were called upon to say how they would approach a particular disaster scenario presented to them. The class was broken into two groups. This showed the ability of those present to work as a team since there was a very limited time in which to assess the situation and determine the stepas that should be taken in such a situation.

In addition three methods were shown in getting a victim out of a dangerous situation. These included lifting, dragging and the use of a stretcher.

Snail Infestation Serious Concern

It was recently announced that the Giant African Snail has infiltrated every parish in Barbados. The Ministry of Agriculture with its very dedicated officers came out on Friday June 20th 2008 to assist the members of the St. Philip West DEO in their quest to turn back the unfestation of the Snail in the area.

These very dedicated men and women braved the cold and the wind to assist in the eradication of snails in the Harlington and Mangrove areas. They were outfitted with rain gear, boots and gloves.

As the effort started the first thing that the members noticed was the large number of snail shells in the area. This was good news as it meant that the baiting that the Ministry and the DEO had done earlier in the year has paid off. There were however also many live snails that were found and burnt. These efforts would be more effective if the DEO could get more members of the public involved in the baiting exercise.

Frankie Weeks from the Department of Emergency Management took some time to come to St. Philip to witness the effort. Let's get some greater community effort next time.

St. Philip West DEO in the Field

According to its President Ian Smitten, the St. Philip West DEO has been getting out into the field to work amongst the members of the Community. There are three projects that are currently engaging the DEO (i) eradicating the Giant African Snail or at least retarding its spread in the St. Philip/Christ Church Area (ii) identifying and marking fire hydrants (iii) identifying flood prone areas. All of these activities have been engaging the members to go out into the field and interact with the residents of St. Philip West.

But is St. Philip West fully prepared? Mr. Smitten indicated that there is a lot of work to be done. However he believes that they are better prepared than in previous years. Some members of the DEO have had experience now with both the Arch Cot and Joe's River tragedies. There have also been some local incidents such as a fallen tree is Packers, Christ Church that was dealt with by the St. Philip West DEO.

St. Philip DEOs Receive Training

The DEOs in the parish of St. Philip are beefing up their training in time for the hurricane season. The training sessions are held at the Princess Margaret School at Six Roads in St. Philip.

The first module was Disaster Preparedness that was presented by Clive Lorde. The second was Fire Safety and Suppression presented by Marlon Small and Fernando McAllister. On Saturday June 14, 2008 the group had an indepth look at Disaster Medical Operations. The instructor for this session was Wayne Payne.

There are several other modules that are on the cards. These include Light Search and Rescue, Incident Command and Team Organisation, Disaster & Emergency Communiation and a Disaster Simulation Exercise. This is a pilot project and it is expected that these sessions will be extended to the DEOS across the island.