Summary

The Government of Austria is providing support to at risk CDERA Participating States under the Capacity-Building for Programming in Comprehensive Disaster Management in the following areas:

1. Benchmarking their earthquake preparedness capacity
2. Enhancing earthquake contingency plans including Search and Rescue
3. Promoting earthquake awareness.

The project will complement ongoing or planned disaster loss reduction capacity building among CDERA Participating States. It will facilitate national programming that seeks to harness interventions and promote collaboration amongst partners for enhanced earthquake contingency planning.

This timing of this project is opportune as 2007 marks 100 years for the 1907 earthquake in Jamaica thereby providing an excellent opportunity for launching a multi-year capacity development programme for Earthquake planning

The two-year project is anticipated to start September 2007 and is being funded by the Government of Austria at a cost of Euros 350,000. The following are expected to be achieved under the project:

1. Survey on Earthquake Readiness Survey in CDERA Participating States
2. Report on the Status of Earthquake Readiness in CDERA Participating States
3. Plan of Action for improving Earthquake Contingency Planning in the region
4. Model Earthquake Contingency Plan and adaptation in four (4) Participating States
5. Regional Earthquake Awareness Campaign
6. Interactive Earthquake Awareness Kit for school children ages 9-15 years
7. Earthquake Readiness Webpage for the CDERA Website

The Project is being managed by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA). At the national level, National Disaster Offices (NDOs) in the project countries headed by the National Disaster Coordinators (NDCs) in collaboration with their National Disaster Management Organizations (NDMOs) will collaborate on the implementation of the project.