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11
July - September 2014
Building capacity to manage emergency operations in Palau
Participants from Palau Government departments,
Palau Red Cross and the media attended training in
August 2014 on establishing andmanaging Emergency
Operations Centers.
In 2012, Typhoon Bopha impacted Palau and affected
hundreds of people and destroyed 70 homes,
displacing 131 people, while in 2013, Super Typhoon
Haiyan devastated the whole northern-most state
of Kayangel, destroying 39 homes and severely
damaging dwellings from Babeldaob to Koror. These
two events highlighted the need for Palau to increase
the number of personnel trained to manage the
response to emergencies and to work in the National
Emergency Operations Center. Through support
from the SPC’s BSRP project, work is underway with
Palau to address this need by providing training in
Emergency Operations Centers for 17 representatives
of government, civil society and the media.
Ms Priscilla Subris, Coordinator of the NDMO, opened
the week-long training by stressing the importance
of all agencies working together and thanking
participants for taking the time ‘to learn how to be
part of Palau’s response to future emergencies’.
During the training, participants studied the
establishment and management of Emergency
Operations Centers. They learnt about the facilities
and equipment needed to ensure smooth running of
a center, and staffing requirements and staff roles and
responsibilities. Information management – essential
for effective decision making – was also covered in-
depth. The training ended with a five-hour table-top
exercise in which participants put their new skills into
practice in responding to a simulated emergency.
Participants taking notes in Emergency Operations Training