News

The Public Works Department (PWD) and National Roads Authority (NRA) completed their 34th consecutive joint hurricane preparedness exercise on Wednesday, 5 May 2021.

Some 170 PWD and NRA staff fanned out around Grand Cayman to inspect 97 Government buildings for hurricane preparedness ahead of the start of the Hurricane Season on 1 June. All 15 purpose-built hurricane shelters were found to be available for shelter if needed.

Teams testing for overall hurricane readiness, shuttered up key government buildings and shelters, checked and started standby generators and verified that cistern water levels were at an acceptable level and state.

Once the facilities were shuttered, inspectors also carried out detailed inspections to certify that the buildings are adequately secured. This exercise replicates the activities that will take place in the event of a real hurricane.

Some statutory authorities also participated in the exercise, by securing their own facilities.

Speaking to staff at the PWD compound at the start of the exercise The Acting Director of PWD Troy Whorms and Ministry representative Leyda Nicholson-Makasare thanked the team for their contributions to preparedness and urged them to exercise safety during the exercise.

The long-established standard is for the exercise to be complete within six hours. This year’s exercise time took 5 hrs. and 10 mins.

The first CI Government official shuttering exercise was held in 1988 some months before Hurricane Gilbert hit the Islands.