TCI: Communication Boost to DDME ahead of Hurricane

#TurksandCaicos, July 22, 2021 – The breakdown of essential communications is one of the most widely shared characteristics of all disasters. Whether partial or complete, the failure of telecommunications infrastructure leads to preventable loss of life and damage to property, by causing delays and errors in emergency response and disaster relief efforts.

The adverse effect of Hurricanes Ike and Hanna in 2008 severely damaged the emergency communications infrastructure in Grand Turk, South Caicos and Providenciales. In 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck the Turks and Caicos Islands and brought extensive destruction to the still-recovering emergency communications infrastructure.

Investments in modern telecommunications infrastructure have provided powerful and flexible tools to enable the Turks and Caicos Government to cope with crisis, and quickly relocate and restore displaced or disrupted communications capabilities.

Today we can begin to phase away from the traditional methods of mounting antennas on lamp poles and on the sides of building structures to obtain the required height and positions. The conventional Antenna Towers are not ideal for our geographical location since they are fixed to the ground and are unable to be moved before a storm, hence they sustained severe damage during past hurricanes.

Based on lessons learnt, three Mobile Antenna Towers were procured from Aluma Tower Company to enhance the emergency communication operations of the National Emergency Operations Center. The official handover and commissioning ceremony for these mobile antenna towers took place on Monday 19th July 2021, at the DDME Providenciales Office.

Acting Governor Her Excellency Anya Williams reflected on Hurricane Irma disruption to communication across the Islands in 2017. She highlighted the importance that emergency communications play in disaster preparedness and response and commended the DDME for the accomplishments made towards enhancing emergency communications in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

These retractable mobile towers are critical assets that reduce the impact of physical destruction to DDMEs emergency communication infrastructure during a disaster. It allows seamless preservation and swift restoration of emergency communications after a storm/hurricane.

During the ceremony, the Honourable Arlington Musgrove, Minister with the responsibility for Disaster Management delivered remarks and stated that he is proud of this strategic investment.

“While there is much more work that needs to be done in the future, I am confident that we are building the foundation to develop a robust and reliable Emergency Communications System with the required redundancies in the Turks & Caicos Islands. During this first phase, three mobile antenna towers were procured and stationed on Providenciales, South Caicos and Grand Turk. For the second phase, we will purchase an additional three (3) mobile antenna towers to place on North Caicos, Middles Caicos and Salt Cay.”

He went on to encourage other Departments, and Private Sector agencies, to invest in mitigation and preparedness throughout their organizations.

This positive development is a major achievement for the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies and by extension the Turks and Caicos Government.

Director (Actg.) Mike Clerveaux concluded that the “…DDME in our quest to build and foster investments in Disaster Management will continue to pursue further innovation to build a resilient future for these islands.”