The forecasts are out for an active hurricane season, but V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) head Mark Walters said he’s just about got everything in place for a rapid response.
"The forecasts never say how many of these storms are going to hit landfall here," Walters said in an interview Tuesday. "So for us in emergency management, we plan for one, because that’s all it takes for us to have a bad year."
Over the past year, VITEMA has undergone several changes, from a new organizational structure to a new mega-facility on St. Thomas, which Walters said has added to the agency’s response capabilities.
The new emergency operations center, for example, will play host during a hurricane or other natural disaster, to a wide range of federal and local responders, who will be organized and deployed based on need.
"In the event there’s a forecast that we’re going to be threatened, we call all our partners to coordinate with us and work side by side in preparation, response and recovery," Walters explained. "So with this structure, what’s called the incident command system, if there’s a mission, let’s say, for us to clear the roadways, we would task Public Works to provide that function, and if that’s beyond their full capability, then we would roll out the federal component, who will also be there with us in the building."
All in all, that means "a lot" of people will be packed into the headquarters if a hurricane blows in, and it’s hoped that the responders will be ready for any situation, he added. And while VITEMA has been severed from the umbrella of the V.I. National Guard, the territory’s military arm will also be part of the efforts, along with its federal counterpart, the Department of Defense, Walters said.
Keeping the communications going as responders hit the streets is also important, so VITEMA has worked with local providers such as Innovative to bury critical broadband lines, Walters said, adding that Innovative has also been tasked to work with the agency on developing a mass alert notification system.
"This project allows us to have people register their contact information with us — whether cell, land line, fax number or email — and any time we need to alert the public about something, we would have the capability to send those messages out instantaneously," he explained.
Walters said he hopes the system will be up and running in the next few months.
Meanwhile, VITEMA has also inspected the territory’s emergency shelters, which are generally managed by the Education and Human Services departments, Walters said.
"So far, everything looks good," he said, adding that federal requirements call for a certain number of facilities to be ready during the storm, while more open after. The shelters have also been equipped with back-up generators supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
While Tuesday only marked the first day of the 2010 hurricane season, Walters also encouraged residents and local businesses to get their preparations under way as soon as possible.
"One thing about the forecasts that have been issued is that it gets people ready, and that’s good," he said. "So we all have to think about putting together the things we need, like a hurricane kit; and I also encourage businesses to think about what they need and how they can recover afterward. We always ask people to be prepared to survive for a minimum of three days, but really, I always encourage them to be prepared for much longer, just in case."
