Belize City Emergency Management Organization plans for disaster

Wayne Usher

On Thursday in the Cayo district, a simulation exercise was held to test the preparedness of the National Emergency Management Organization. And in Belize City today, meetings began to discuss hurricanes and all other disasters.  The Belize City Emergency Management Organization Committee met for the first time for 2010 to go over their plans for disasters. City Councillor Wayne Usher chaired the session and shared with us what they’re looking to fine tune.

Wayne Usher, City Councillor

“All those emergencies that could affect this country, such as hurricanes, floods, fires, road traffic accidents, and now we’ve added a new dimension. We’re talking now about earthquakes and tsunamis.  So we’ve widened the gamut and we are trying to get prepared for any eventuality of that sort.  This Committee is a well-structured one with several sub-committees that meet occasionally to update the plan. For the immediate future we have now cemented where those hurricane shelters are.  Those that are not on the list that we have visited will be taken off.  When we bring out the new list, we will include what are those shelters, we will include what is our evacuation plans, like the bus lines that are going to be involved, the listing of where people can catch the busses for evacuation, where those coming in from the cayes will land, their final destination, communication and the warning signals.  We’re trying to get police, BERT, Fire Service to have the same signals.  For example, when the siren comes on for let’s say a tsunami; those three entities will already know what that means.  They’ll be on the same page, so we are getting that coordinated, practical things like that.”