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Charles returns from hurricane conference
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Jun 1, 2007 14:38 UTC
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~ Hurricane shelters not evaluated by Red Cross ~
PHILIPSBURG - Brigade Commander for the St. Maarten Red Cross Joseph Charles, on his return from the annual pre-hurricane meeting in Panama from May 14 to 18, says the Red Cross cannot comment on hurricane shelters at this point because it has not done any evaluations this year.
Charles said he has learnt that the list of shelters “is out” but says he is not certain who has done an evaluation on the shelters. As is standard procedure over the years, the St. Maarten Red Cross evaluates the shelters to ensure they have the capacity to house large numbers of people. It also ensures the availability of private facilities to provide basic medical care.
The Fire Department usually inspects to ensure proper ventilation and checks for fire and other safety hazards, while Public Works Department ensures that the structure is in good condition and the Sector Hygiene Department deals with the sewage and sanitation aspects of the shelters.
Charles meanwhile says he is working on a Shelter Management course which would likely take place this year just before the peak of the Hurricane Season. This course will guide Red Cross personnel on ways to improve communication at shelters, and provide rapid assessment of their particular situations at shelters.
Charles said this year’s conference in Panama dealt primarily with how to develop a contingency plan for forty-eight-hour stabilization following a disaster. Special focus was put on the ability of Red Cross personnel to make rapid assessment of their situation, health concerns affecting them at shelters, water and sanitation issues, sheltering in general and early recovery from disasters.
With these areas covered, countries can quickly determine their strengths and weaknesses, and when requesting assistance are able to ask for the right needs. The Red Cross also met in Panama on April 25 to discuss their actions of 2006 and work on eliminating things that did not work well for them in terms of disaster recovery and implementation of new measures.
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