Residents of Saint Vincent affected by the volcanic activity of the La Soufriere volcano will receive approximately 135,000 USD for disaster relief from a project by the Caribbean Development Bank (CBD).
The Volcano Ready Project was launched in 2017 under the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF) and is managed by CDB with funding from Canada and the European Union.
On April 29, 500 beds, 1,500 cartons of bottled water, and 50 800-gallon water storage tanks were supplied to the community. Seismic systems (seismometers, monitors, digitisers, electrical systems, and cases), cordless ethernet radios, remote monitoring cameras, and GPS transmitters and receiver are being acquired.
“We continue to stay extremely thankful for the CDB’s assistance as we have know where the funding goes and how it helps what we have been trying to implement in the last 3 years particularly to expand and improve the education system, public preparedness, and improving the early alert systems for volcanos. All of this has made a significant contribution to lowering the loss of human life in reaction to the volcanic activities,” said Monique Johnson, project leader of the Volcano-Ready Communities in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
“Most would have believed that volcanic preparedness was a far-off idea at first, but we have already witnessed how all of our preparedness has benefited. It is also vital that we increase volcanic observation at this moment so that we are not caught by surprise in the long term,” she said.
Johnson emphasized the importance of communicating best practices and lessons learned through distance classes while collaborating with regional project partners, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) and the SVG Red Cross Society, to distribute over 500 public preparation kits.
She also praised CDB for its continued assistance in expanding one seismic facility to seven when the program’s focus shifts to volcanic screening and detection alert in December 2020.
“With CDB financing, our Belmont Observatory, where researchers presently sit and observe, has been equipped and trained with remote monitoring technology. We are presently planning to use the extended term to purchase an UAV drone, which will enhance monitoring system and risk analysis while leaving the seismic crew at a safe place and enabling us to collect data to better analyze the volcanic danger and exposure,” she continued.
George Yearwood, CDB’s project leader for the CDRRF, outlined the community involvement methodology used in their backing of the program.
In line with the CDB’s community involvement strategy, Richardo Aiken, community outreach expert, emphasized the significance of keeping the public interested and participating throughout all project phases.
Aiken mentioned that studies were used early stages of the project to gather public feedback, and that this practice has continued to the point where the society is engaged in evaluations of livelihood attacks and hazards, community statuses, livelihood inventory levels, stakeholder layouts, and seasonal calendars.
This degree of participation also aided the initiative in determining the most effective approaches to involve various sectors of the community.
