The Department of Disaster Management is inviting residents to take part in ShakeOut, an annual global earthquake safety drill scheduled for Oct. 16. DDM Director Jasen Penn said the exercise …
October 7, 2025
September 8, 2025
Students explore climate resilience
Five high school students got hands-on experience in engineering, electronics, environmental conservation and other topics during the Department of Disaster Management’s annual summer programme. The weeklong initiative was developed in …
July 10, 2025
NEOC contract scrapped
Government has cancelled the construction contract for the long-delayed National Emergency Operations Centre in McNamara after paying out more than half its value, and officials hope to hire a new …
June 5, 2025
EDITORIAL: Hurricane season is here
Have you prepared for this year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season? If not, you’re already behind. The official season started on June 1, meaning that a major storm could form at any …
April 22, 2025
VI repped at regional disaster meeting
Climate change, geopolitics and cross-border collaboration were on the agenda when Disaster Management Director Jasen Penn met with his counterparts from around the region last week in the Turks and …
March 27, 2025
Nearly 7,000 take part in tsunami drill
A quarter after 10 a.m. last Thursday, sirens rang out across the territory, signaling residents to get to higher ground for a tsunami drill. All told, 6,854 people in the …
May 9, 2024
Flooding closes schools, offices
As much as five inches of rain fell in parts of the Virgin Islands Tuesday afternoon, tearing apart recently paved roads, flooding several businesses and the Elmore Stoutt High School, …
April 16, 2024
‘Hyperactive’ storm season is expected
This year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season is expected to be “extremely active,” researchers warned last week. In a report released last Thursday, forecasters at the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project …
March 29, 2024
Tsunami drill sends Virgin Islands to higher ground
More than 4,000 people across the Virgin Islands took part in this year’s Caribe Wave tsunami drill, with residents walking up the nearest hill to avoid the simulated natural hazard, …
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February 5, 2024
$1.4m EU grant to help 14 schools
Fourteen Virgin Islands schools will be “safer, healthier and greener” thanks to a European Union grant worth about $1.4 million, government announced last week. The BVI SMART Schools initiative — …
October 19, 2023
What to know about today’s earthquake drill
The Department of Disaster Management is coordinating a local observance of the global “ShakeOut” earthquake drill today. The self-led exercise, which is expected to draw millions of participants worldwide, is …
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October 5, 2023
Philippe flings flash floods
Tropical Storm Philippe cut a chaotic and unpredictable path across the Caribbean this week, finally parking over the Virgin Islands most of Tuesday night and causing flash flooding throughout the …
April 1, 2022
Department of Disaster Management touts weather stations
The Virgin Islands’ network of 24 weather monitoring stations helps support preparedness in the short and long term, Department of Disaster Management acting Director Jasen Penn said last week as …
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February 8, 2021
$9.8 million contract to bring new NEOC
Having laid in ruin since Hurricane Irma passed in 2017, the National Emergency Operations Centre will soon be demolished, and a state-of-the-art centre will be built in its place, officials …
March 23, 2019
More contracts awarded under CDB loan
During the month of February, several more contracts were signed and awarded under the $65 million Caribbean Development Bank rehabilitation and reconstruction loan. Now, nine of 18 consultancy contracts have …
December 6, 2018
DDM Director Sharleen DaBreo awarded MBE
Sharleen DaBreo’s lifelong dedication to the field of disaster management began with, not surprisingly, a disaster: the 1979 eruption of the Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent. “I can still smell …
October 5, 2018
Three VI communities planning to get ‘smart’
Three communities in the territory are at the forefront of an initiative that is aiming to make neighbourhoods safer and more eco-friendly in the face of natural disasters. Through a …
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October 1, 2018
NEOC will finally get new building
About eight years after plans were initially drawn up for a new Department of Disaster Management building, the agency is now able to move ahead with the design and construction …
September 13, 2018
‘Final’ shelter list shorter than hoped
The final emergency shelter list issued for this year looks fairly different than usual: There are fewer shelters included, with no building listed for the Road Town area, and two …
July 24, 2018
Community Emergency Response Team trains for hurricane season and beyond
Outside the New Testament Church of God in Baughers Bay last Thursday, a woman lay on the ground beside her crashed car, screaming hysterically. “My baby, my baby!” she cried. …
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June 11, 2018
Only one primary shelter named on DDM ‘interim’ list
The Department of Disaster Management has released an “interim” list of shelters that are available for use in case of an emergency during this month and next. Last week, the …
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June 8, 2018
No hurricane shelters list from DDM
A week into the 2018 hurricane season, government has not yet released an updated list of emergency shelters, despite past promises from public officials that those details would be provided …
May 22, 2018
Local businesses learn about disaster resilience at seminar
About 50 professionals representing businesses across the territory learned about disaster preparedness at the Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Symposium on May 15. The free symposium, sponsored by the Caribbean …
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May 10, 2018
Hydrology study to be completed by July
After the heavy floods last August, more than a few unusual objects made their way into ghuts and washed along the streets of Road Town. “We found mattresses, we found …
May 2, 2018
Downpours and flooding possible into weekend, DDM warns
Heavy downpours that could lead to flooding are possible in the territory through Saturday, the Department of Disaster Management warned this week. The low-level trough system could bring “abundant moisture” …
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