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Acting Director of Antigua/Barbuda’s National Office of Disaster Services (NODS), Philmore Mullin, said there needs to be more collaboration between the agencies that govern the construction/development projects in the country.

Mullin was at the time speaking to reporters Monday, during the Caribbean Disaster Response Agency (CDERA) pre-board meeting that started on Monday and concludes Wednesday.

According to Mullin, NODS is not the only agency that has responsibility for disaster reduction and his office functions as a secretariat as other departments such as the Development Control Authority (DCA), Environment Department and Public Works all have a part to play in risk reduction. He said if a closer working relationship is established, more effort could be spent on lessening impact.

“I would like to see a process, for all development, where there is a real stake holder’s forum where all of the issues relating to location, design and operational vulnerability are taken into consideration before we even break ground.

“If we can do that we will be very far advance in reducing our vulnerability for all of the developments that are coming on stream and then all that will be left for us to do is to prioritize how we are going to use mitigation as a tool for the already built structures”, said Mullin.

The NODS Director said Antigua/Barbuda is prone to earthquakes and recall a time when there were approximately 31 earthquakes in roughly 29 days. He further stated that these statistics and with the recent earthquake occurrence in China, residents must do all within their reach to ensure that they are prepared for natural disasters.

NODS is presently finalizing its National Disaster Management Policy, which is expected to be published shortly. (Ends)