US Virgin Islands Hotel & Tourism Association

USVI Hosts Senior Officials All Hazards Preparedness Workshops

On March 22 on St. Croix and 23 on St. Thomas, the U.S. Virgin Islands government hosted All Hazards Preparedness Workshops for senior officials which integrated government, non‐government organizations and private sector representatives to offer them basic knowledge on strategies and coordination planning for emergency preparedness and response. This workshop provided groundwork for participants of the upcoming Vigilant Guard exercise scheduled for May.

These workshops delivered relevant information on how community leaders can develop and/or strengthen their capabilities to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from all hazards incidents. It offered an opportunity for leaders to discuss their roles, responsibilities and preparedness challenges, and confer about domestic preparedness resources and how to adjust these considering local community needs. Through work group discussions and practical exercises, leaders also brought attention to topics on prevention and protection, preparedness, response and recovery, incident management, private sector collaboration, crisis communication, public health and medical challenges and continuity of operations.

A training team from the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, which is part of the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center, joined efforts with VITEMA officials to lead these workshops in the territory.

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