Preparedness planning and related exercises are ongoing needs which include: communications, necessary materials, evacuations, and first responders’ roles. VITEMA had a comprehensive preparedness plan developed before the storm, which is a good starting point to conduct an afteraction review and update the plan to include lessons learned.

One of the key preparedness issues that arose post-storms is the need for more emergency shelters. Currently, going into the 2018 hurricane season, there are no designated emergency shelters on St. John. VITEMA coordinates preparedness planning for the territory and for St. John. This project encourages continued coordination between preparedness groups, including the St. John Community Foundation, St. John Rescue, Love City Strong and VITEMA. Nonprofit groups, the business community, and others can play a key role in supplementing VITEMA’s resources in order to best respond to an emergency with distribution of supplies, neighborhood volunteer groups that can check-in with their area and report people as safe, quickly resuming internet service, and more. An island-wide preparedness plan should be created, shared with the public and exercised annually.

Key Players: VITEMA; St. John Rescue; Love City Strong Alignment: IS, CPCB RSFs Cost: < $100,00 Timeline: One Year