Thursday, February 25 at 5h30 p.m. will be held at Village Gari de Saint Philomène (Tabarre), the first evacuation exercise of 2016 managed by the consortium of NGOs COOPI (Italian) and GOAL (Irish) within this project for strengthening preparation capacity, mitigation and response to major natural hazards of the most vulnerable urban communities, funded by the Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection of the European Commission (ECHO).

This exercise will simulates an evacuation following a landslide with the community in collaboration with the Departmental Civil Protection, communal and local and community response teams of the zone.

This activity is the first of 2016 of a series of evacuation exercises that COOPI and GOAL will organize in urban areas of Gressier, Port au Prince and Tabarre.

The objective is to strengthen preparedness and response capacities of vulnerable communities, by trying to create automatic reflexes to best manage an emergency situation and avoid maximum casualties.

To make the exercises more realistic, are used including the dramatization of victims provided by the community, makeup with fake injuries, staging always appreciated by the beneficiaries. During these exercises is xplained the importance of being well prepared in case of emergency conveniently and captivating by creating a lasting memory and most immediate reflex in the population.

"Haiti is a country highly exposed and vulnerable to risks. With these exercises we develop a methodology for the management of crisis situations in the metropolitan area of Port au Prince. We supports local institutions in the implementation of effective preparedness and response instruments and in implementing a risk management system," explained Morena Zucchelli, COOPI representative in Haiti.

HL/ HaitiLibre