About ODPM

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory to the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), September 1989. The Minister of National Security is a Council Member and the Director, ODPM is a Board Member of CDEMA. There are two Articles also define ODPM‘s role and functions these are Articles 12 and 13.

ARTICLE 13

UNDERTAKING OF PARTICIPATING STATES

Without prejudice to the requirement to discharge any other obligations assumed under or in connection with this Agreement, Participating States undertake:

1. to establish or maintain, as the case may be, national relief organizations capable of responding swiftly, effectively and in a coordinated manner to disasters in Participating States;
2. to establish emergency disaster planning groups and define national policies and priorities in the even of disasters;
3. provide national relief organizations with adequate support including named emergency coordinators, liaison officers with key Ministries, emergency services, utilities and the like;
4. to task the named agencies (including the emergency services, Health and Public Works) and their coordinators with specific functions and responsibilities to ensure the development of an adequate response capability to support national disaster action;
5. to define the role and functions of key agencies such as the Security Services, Health and Public Works in disaster emergency response management establish a system for regular review of their procedures for coordinated response;
6. establish and equip a suitable emergency operations center capable of handling emergency telecommunications and coordinating emergency responses involving many services;
7. develop and maintain an emergency telecommunications system based on the most appropriate technology to ensure the coordination of emergency operations involving the emergency services mentioned above as well as voluntary private sector services;
8. to establish and strengthen procedures for coping with major disaster threats and scenarios and review systems for testing the procedures by drills and simulations;
9. to review and rationalize legal arrangements for disaster mitigation and emergency action;
10. to review and catalogue past disaster events and list credible future emergency event scenarios and identify and map areas with special problems like flood prone and landslide prone areas;
11. to establish data bases of key resources, both human and material, and a system for keeping them current and to computerize and integrate them into an automated emergency information system;
12. to develop, in collaboration with competent governmental agencies, an emergency shelter policy and programme involving the full participation of local officials in community-based organizations;
13. to develop and review a system for community participation, local mobilization and counter disaster action in the even of isolation;
14. to develop strategies for loss reduction in the public and private sectors focusing on vital economic activities and life-line activities like water supply;
15. to develop a system and procedures for damage assessment in order to facilitate rapid and effective post impact evaluation;
16. to develop and implement a comprehensive disaster public awareness, information and education programme involving media houses, schools, voluntary agencies and other institutions in order to ensure public participation and community involvement in the disaster management system;
17. develop and implement appropriate training programmes for persons involved in the disaster management system;
18. identify and seek participation in bilateral and multilateral technical cooperation programme designed to develop disaster management capabilities;
19. to identify, maintain in a state of readiness an