We turn now to the immediate response efforts from the Government's disaster response apparatus. Dr. Kenrick Williams, the CEO of the Ministry of Disaster Risk Management, provided an update on the first response teams that have been deployed since morning to conduct preliminary damage assessments.
Here's what he had to say about the fly-over missions which Prime Minister Briceno and Landy Habet, the Minister of Disaster Risk Management, conducted today:
Dr. Kenrick Williams - CEO, Ministry of Disaster Risk Management
"Our teams on the ground are meeting. Over the last couple of hours, we've been strategizing in terms of the response. The National Emergency Operations Center at HQ is in full gear. We had our public officers working all through the night - the last two or three nights, actually. And so, I also express gratitude to them as well, across the various committees that we have in NEMO. Certainly, Colonel Defour is going to speak to this in some detail, but we are looking at some important things happening as we go forward. Certainly, everybody is asking when will that clear be given. There are some key things we need to happen before that occurs. We have to make sure that the roads are clear and that they are safe to pass. So, of course, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and other ministries are supporting that plan. Concurrently, we are looking at the restoration of utilities by BEL and the other suppliers: power, Internet, cable, and other water and other utilities, rescue -and addressing some of the key priorities, rescue operation efforts have been a key priority for us - or is a key priority for us going through today. A key priority, of course, would be the government providing support to families who are directly impacted. That's a key line of response that we're looking at in terms of providing food and some basic supplies to get us through the next 24 hours or so the immediate priorities, and of course, looking at positioning the resources where we need those resources to be placed. And then, of course, looking at the damage assessment, this morning we have the prime minister, our minister, Minister Habet, who is going to be doing the initial flyover and the initial damage assessment to give us a sense of the extent of damages in certain key areas. And that is going to inform the National Damage Assessment Report, at least the initial phase. Tomorrow, we also have a team of technical officers going up to do a flyover to do some further and more elaborate assessment in terms of the damages."
