PHILIPSBURG:--- Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise hosted a special meeting at Carl & Sons Pondfill on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Dr. Virginia Asin, President of the Rotary Club of St Martin Sunrise, welcomed drs. Paul Martens, head of the Office of Disaster Management St. Maarten Fire Department, who was the presenter for that evening.
The hurricane season was used to reiterate hurricane preparedness but also to talk about other emergencies and disasters that can occur on Sint Maarten. The presentation defined what a disaster was and the types of disasters that exist, with hurricanes and tropical storms being the most common to St. Maarten. Improvements such as legislation, implementing a disaster management system and enhancing the construction, drainage and infrastructure were discussed. The Organization Disaster Management & Command Structure is a well thought out plan of action in case a disaster strikes. It shows the head of the structure being the Prime Minister of St. Maarten supported by the Fire Chief, Head of Disaster Management and 10 Emergency Support Function (ESF) groups. ESF groups are government and non-government agencies whose responsibilities are varied depending on the agency and type of disaster. For example ESF 1, GEBE would be responsible for getting light and water restored quickly as possible, while ESF 6, Public Health and Medical Assistance would be responsible for surveillance, risk mitigation disease prevention and medical assistance among other things.
On behalf of the club Dr Asin thanked drs. Martens for a very informative session. She also extended thanks to Rotarians from the Rotary Club of St. Martin Nord, Rotaract and fellow guests who attended the presentation.
In addition a raffle was also held for those in attendance. The gift baskets were donated by Manrique Capriles. The baskets were filled with beauty products for both men and women.
The club meets at Air Lekkerbek Restaurant every Tuesday mornings at 7:00am for fellowship and breakfast. For more information on the club visit us at sxmsunrise.org or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., we are also on Facebook: Rotary Club of Saint Martin Sunrise.
