Quick links
| Disaster Preparedness | Container Project |
| Disaster Response | National Intervention Team |
| Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Project |
The Disaster Management programme is split in two parts:
Disaster Preparedness
Focuses on raising awareness through educating the community about the different types of disasters that we may encounter while living in the Cayman Islands, from hurricanes and flooding, to earthquakes, fires and crime.
Volunteers are key players in disseminating DP information to the community through assessments, assistance in creating family disaster plans, community sessions, and making radio and television appearances.
Disaster Response
Disaster Response (DR), as the name implies, focuses on assisting the members of the community who were affected by a disaster. Whether it is helping one family that was most affected by a localized house fire or an entire nation recovering from a category 5 hurricane, the DR programme is there to ensure that adequate help is available to the most vulnerable in our community.
Volunteers for the disaster programme are trained in CPR/First Aid/AED, as well as pre and post disaster assessments, logistics, communications, shelter management, and psychological support. In 2009 the CIRC trained its first group of National Intervention Team members, an intensive regional Red Cross training programme which provides more in depth information and skills to the most active and keen disaster management volunteers.
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Project
The Cayman Islands Red Cross joined other British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean in the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) project in 2012. This project brought the Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) training to the communities and empowered them to recognize their own expertise as well as identify the resources and hazards that were present within their community.
Community Emergency Response Team
As a result of the Disaster Risk Reduction Project, the CIRC has played a pivotal role in the creation and training of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) throughout Cayman. To date, eight (8) communities have been involved in the project which has seen a significant increase in community involvement since it began. The training has also made up a great part of the national Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, in which the Red Cross plays a significant role.
DRR communities and CERTs play an important role in identifying vulnerable people and situations and each community has developed it’s own community emergency response plan to help maximise resources and minimise loss of life and property.
Container Project
The Container Project is an integral part of the DP/DR programmes as containers are stocked and strategically placed throughout Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands to assist each community in the event of a national and localised disaster. Containers are stocked with equipment such as: hygiene kits, flashlights, batteries, plastic sheeting, etc.
National Intervention Team
The highest designation that a volunteer can attain, the National Intervention Team (NIT) is part of the Disaster Management Programme of the CIRC.
In order to attend this intensive week-long training, participants must submit an application. The NIT offer more in-depth information about the key areas of disaster preparedness and response. It covers logistics, the restoration of family links (tracing and messaging), damage assessment and evaluation, procurement, shelter management, and distribution. Participants will also be educated on the roles the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and the British Red Cross (BRCS) play national and regional disasters.
The NIT training is a mandatory component for any volunteer who wishes to join the Regional Intervention Team (RIT). This team is made up of regional volunteers who are deployed in the event of an emergency, such as the Haiti earthquake and the more recent Hurricane Matthew
For more information on the disaster management programme, please contact the CIRC Disaster Manager at [email protected].
