Attendees at the DANA training.
ANGUILLA--The Anguilla Statistics Department, through the Damage and Needs Assessment (DANA) working group of the Strategic Planning subcommittee of the National Disaster Management Committee, held its annual training and recruitment drive last week.
Some 25 persons attended the training that began with opening remarks and objectives of DANA presented by Permanent Secretary for Economic Development, Investment, Commerce, Information Technology and Natural Resources (EDICITNR) Chanelle Petty-Barrett.
It was stressed that if officials responsible for organising post-disaster relief operations are to make effective decisions about deploying resources or requesting international aid, it is essential that they be properly informed. They must have “appropriate and timely data about what has happened, what needs to be done and what resources are available.” Well-organised responses will also help to build confidence and enhance credibility.
The organisers also noted that the gathering of effective and accurate information/data in a timely manner, immediately after the impact of any disaster, continues to be extremely vital to the recovery of small states like Anguilla. Some of the data are already available in the form of baseline data (maps, population statistics etc.), which must be accessible, but this baseline data must be supplemented by real-time data after the event.
The training was conducted in segments and included an Overview of DANA and the National Disaster Management Committee; Professionalism, Manner and Approach in DANA; Process and Phases of DANA; Data Gathering and Processing in DANA; and Analysing, Interpreting and Reporting Damage and Needs.
Calvin Samuel, Sanford Richardson and Anthea Ipinson Connor presented some of the segments along with staff of the Statistics Department, who will lead the DANA teams in the event that any disaster strikes.
