MARIGOT: This Thursday, October 13, 2022, after an educational morning organized at the Lycée Robert Weinum in La Savane as part of National Resilience Day, the action “All resilient in the face of risks” continued for the general public at the CCISM.
As a reminder, National Resilience Day (NRD) aims to raise awareness, inform and acculturate all citizens to the risks that surround them, in a logic of practical exercises, and to contribute to the preparation of all the right behaviors in case of occurrence of a disaster. The operation “Tous résilients face aux risques” (All resilient in the face of risks), the first part of which was held at the cité scolaire Robert Weinum for all the classes of the second year with an exhibition, a conference-debate and information stand of the Red Cross, the fire department and the territorial police, moved to the CCISM in the afternoon for the second part open to the general public.
This action was organized by Fabienne Monmarson, head of the Security Service and assistant to the Director of the Cabinet of the Prefecture, with two speakers from Météo France: Jean-Noël Degrace, an international expert in hydrometeorological risk management, member of the permanent commission “Disaster Risk Reduction” of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and chairman of the global expert group on the interoperability of Early Warning Services, who presented the cyclone component to the ten or so people, and Carole Berthod, a post-doctoral researcher specializing in earthquakes, magmas and volcanoes, who dealt with seismic and volcanic risks, with an introduction to the definition of risk: hazard (probability of a hazard occurring) x stakes (city or country) x vulnerability.
According to the two experts, Saint-Martin remains the most at-risk territory in the Caribbean arc in terms of major hurricanes. The assembly, made up of socio-professionals and actors directly concerned with the culture of risk, was very attentive to the complete and detailed presentations of the two speakers. Jean-Noël Degrace took the time to develop in detail the chapter on hurricanes, a theme familiar to the territory of Saint-Martin, especially since the calendar always places us in the hurricane season.
From 2:00 to 4:00 pm, the audience learned everything there is to know about hurricanes (swell and cyclonic wind, storm surge, sea level rise, etc.) and earthquakes, but also everything about weather forecasting, a key player in natural disaster prevention and preparedness, as well as real-time information and controlled communication. Regarding the tools available to measure rainfall at the disposal of Meteo France, there is, at present, only the radar of Guadeloupe that can calculate the amount of rainfall on St. Martin, the Guadeloupean radar being more than 200km from the island, it is often difficult to determine this measure accurately. By November of this year, a weather radar will be installed on the territory in partnership with the Collectivité and Sint Maarten thanks to European funds.
Meteo France is already involved in the specifications and identified as the beneficiary of all data in real-time. The new radar should be operational by early 2023 at the latest, according to Jean-Noël Degrace, who advocates better land-use planning as an integral part of the culture of risk and resilience that St. Maarten is constantly demonstrating.
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