GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Hurricane Exercise 2016 (HUREX 2016) is currently underway, and residents and motorists will see an increase in activity on the public roads (eg. Port of St. Maarten, Princess Juliana International Airport, Cay Bay, Philipsburg) and in various districts involving military and civil authorities such as Police, Ambulance, Fire and other emergency response services, during the next few days.
The public and motorists do not need to be concerned with respect to the heightened emergency response activities, as this is part of the training exercise which involves various scenarios that will play out in different districts (eg. St. Peters, South Reward, Middle Region, Belvedere, Cay Hill) during the morning, afternoon and at times in the evening hours.
HUREX takes place on an annual basis and includes the 10 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) from the country’s Disaster Management Organization along with the Dutch military detachment based on the island.
The exercise allows all relevant government agencies along with the military to familiarize themselves with operational protocols in the event of a disaster and in this case a hurricane.
Various emergency services and military vehicles as well as personnel from various governmental and non-governmental entities, will be working together during the exercise, and the public will see a noticeable increase in activity in some districts and on the road network of the services which is part of HUREX 2016.
This year’s HUREX will also include disaster assets from Saint Martin (French side).
The exercise takes place under the banner of the Fire Department/Office of Disaster Management.
The Office of Disaster Management falls under the Ministry of General Affairs.
