(Trinidad Guardian) If a tsunami is heading towards Port-of-Spain, buses will take people from the capital city to places like the Lady Young lookout or the Northern Range which are more than 30 to 40 feet high, says the CEO of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), Dr Stephen Ramroop. “There is a plan, and the ODPM will co-ordinate the entire event,” Ramroop assured. The Defence Force, the police, the Fire Service and ministries like National Security and Transport will also be involved in the process, he said. Outlining the basic points of the plan, he said if there is reasonable time to “egress” (and escape the tsunami), people in the city will be asked to assemble at evacuation hubs. From these north-east, north-west and south-east hubs, buses and other forms of state transportation will take people to the hills, Ramroop disclosed. “They will be taken to places like the Lady Young lookout and the Northern Range,” he said. Ramroop said a general evacuation for Port-of-Spain, in the event of a major disaster, is also well in place. “The ODPM assisted the Port-of-Spain Corporation in the development of an egress plan and an evacuation plan,” he said. “The egress plan involves leaving the city in an orderly fashion without any immediate hazardous effects.
“The evacuation plan is about leaving your cars, everything, and walking to points where you will be taken away to places of safety.”
