June 28, 2007 — Nothing really happened at the Crown Bay commercial container port on St. Thomas earlier this week, but a group of government officials led by Gov. John deJongh Jr. had to pretend the facility faced a terrorist attack as an exercise in disaster preparedness.
The governor and members of his cabinet met at VITEMA headquarters on St. Thomas Wednesday morning to define the role and responsibilities that government departments and agencies will assume in the event of a natural or man-made disaster in the territory, according to a Government House news release.
The executive-level table-top exercise required cabinet members to think quickly in the face of a terrorist attack at the port, in close proximity to a school and the electrical-power generating plant, the release said.
“Many times our decision making is based on hurricanes, and this took us out of the norm, as now we must think of a tsunami, an earthquake or even a terrorist attack against the territory,” deJongh said. The simulated emergency gave cabinet members the opportunity to test their skills and see how their respective agencies would respond if faced with a real emergency.
“We wanted to ensure that the cabinet members understood their roles if faced with an emergency and provide them with a good overview of the protocols that will be exercised,” said Adjutant General Renaldo Rivera.
The all-hazard mitigation approach is designed to be exercised in the face of any natural or man-made disaster against the Virgin Islands, the release said. Director of Homeland Security Mel Vanterpool said no matter the emergency, the response and recovery strategy will be the same.
“It was a very well-done exercise with maximum participation by members of the Emergency Management Council, Vanterpool said. "I am convinced coming out of the exercise that the agency heads understand their roles and responsibilities should they be confronted with a disaster.”
The exercise made it clear his cabinet is on the right track in terms of disaster preparedness, which often times is the best means of protection, deJongh said.
“The department heads have given thought to how they will respond, where they will go, how they will interact with each other," he said. "We also used the exercise to play out how we will react on St. Croix and St. John if the disaster is based on St. Thomas, and how will the response and recovery be staged if the disaster is on one of the other islands.”
The Emergency Management Council is chaired by the governor and led by the adjutant general, director of VITEMA and the Homeland Security director. The council includes all commissioners, directors and agency heads.
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