– Ramsarup
THE Civil Defence Commission (CDC) will soon establish a new website to access and update information on disaster management for facilitating more efficient and timely responses in emergency situations.

Director General, Colonel (ret’d) Chabilall Ramsarup made the announcement Tuesday at a forum in Regency Suites Hotel on Hadfield Street, Georgetown.

He said members of the public can post their queries on the site and the commission will respond once the situation is authentic.

For example, Ramsarup said: “The Chief Livestock Officer might be at Mahaicony and wants to have some sort of medicine for animals very quickly. He can send that information from his ‘Blackberry’ or laptop computer straight to the CDC website and immediate action will be taken to find and send the drug to the location requested.”

He said the development is part of a wider programme to strengthen the commission’s preparedness in responding to such requests.

It is within this context that the CDC hosted a two-day seminar geared towards framing a damage assessment and needs analysis (DANA) plan, standard operation procedures (SOPs) and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance action.

The seminar, which concluded Wednesday, was aimed at familiarising participants with the basic concepts of damage assessment and needs analysis, review and formulate the DANA plan and the SOPs, develop requisite forms and identify future actions in developing and implementing a national DANA system.

Between June 2008 and June 2009, 342 incidents have been linked to natural hazards and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Representative, Mr. Didier Trebucq said 42 million people were affected, 14,000 died and economic losses soared to US$57 billion.

“Droughts, fires, storms, floods, earthquakes and other incidents, when combined with risk drivers, such as increasing urbanisation, poor, vulnerable livelihoods and the decline of the ecosystem, could lead to human misery.

“Disasters are always a bitter reality,” the diplomat acknowledged, noting that Guyana had a taste in 2005.

Trebucq lauded the efforts being made by the CDC to bolster its capacity and capability.