Island’s Top Disaster Managers Attend 2008 National Hurricane Conference (April 3, 2008)

GREAT BAY – St. Maarten (GIS) – Paul Martens Head of the Section Disaster Management at the St. Maarten Fire Department gave a presentation on Tuesday at the 2008 National Hurricane Conference in Orlando Florida.

Martens presentation was entitled, “A Quiet Hurricane Season 2007 on Sint Maarten – The Challenges of Keeping the Population Well-Prepared.”  << view presentation here >>

The conference is being held from March 31 to April 4 at the Rosen Centre Hotel and is also being attended by National Disaster Coordinator & Fire Commander Winston Salomon.

Active Image  Sint Maarten delegation: Glen Carty (UTS), Paul Martens (Disaster Management), Winston Salomon (Fire Chief / Disaster Coordinator)

 

The primary goal of the National Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific.

In addition, the conference serves as a national forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency Management.

The island’s disaster management office is getting itself ready for the 2008 hurricane season which is less than two months away. 

The application process for the hurricane mobility passes is scheduled to start around mid-April also in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season.

“Prior to the beginning of every hurricane season we take a proactive approach by starting preliminary preparations a number of weeks prior leading up to a full activation of government resources where it concerns the nation’s Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) in preparation for the season.

“Attending the hurricane conference gives us as disaster managers an insight into what the experts are predicting for the season and what are their expectations. 

“We have an opportunity to exchange information and viewpoints about our experiences and see what new techniques we can utilize in our own preparations for the upcoming season,” National Disaster Coordinator/Fire Commander Winston Salomon told the Government Information Service (GIS).