January 28, 2011–The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) through the Australian‐funded Earthquake Readiness Capacity Building (ERCB) Project is hosting six (6) two day workshops in CDEMA’s Participating States. Barbados, Dominica, Haiti, St. Kitts/Nevis, Saint Lucia and the Turks and Caicos Islands are the beneficiaries of the National Earthquake Contingency Planning Workshops.

The workshops, through stakeholder engagement will improve the countries’ capacity for earthquake contingency planning through the adaptation of the Model Earthquake Contingency Plan (MECP) developed by CDEMA. The National Contingency Plans developed will comprehensively address all aspects of managing earthquake events in the Caribbean region decreasing vulnerability.

January 18, 2011– The first of two three (3) day Sub-Regional Training of Facilitators Workshop on Community based Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Programnme will be convened at the Cascadia Hotel and conference Centre, Port of Spain, Trinidad from Tuesday January 25th to Thursday January 27th, 2011. 

The workshop is being convened by CDEMA and hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) through the support of the Austrian Development Agency’s funded, “Mainstreaming Climate Change into Disaster Risk Management for the Caribbean Region (CCDM)” project.  

Participants attending this workshop are from the CDEMA Participating States and comprise community facilitators and persons working with community groups  to develop disaster risk reduction or community development plans.

Twenty-five students from across the Caribbean, including four from the British Virgin Islands, have enrolled for a web-based training in “Introduction to Disaster Management” under the auspices of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.

The three-month course will commence on Wednesday 19 January and is being offered by the College in collaboration with the BVI Government’s Department of Disaster Management on behalf of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

Major subject areas to be covered include an introduction to natural, technical, civil and environmental hazards; various methods of managing disaster events, including mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and incident management systems; and the roles and responsibilities of Government, business and non-governmental organizations.