Virgin Islands, FEMA held hurricane-response exercises ahead of 2023 season

The Virgin Islands government and federal partners took part in response, initial recovery and functional exercises during the week of May 22, 2023, ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season, according to a Government House statement issued June 1, 2023.

The exercises used a scenario in which a Category 3 hurricane struck the U.S. Virgin Islands overnight, allowing participants to conduct initial assessments and coordination. A unified command was established with territorial leadership and federal support from emergency operations centers on St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John, along with FEMA facilities.

Government House said the weeklong exercise was the capstone of a planning effort that had lasted nearly six months. More than 300 participants took part at 10 sites.

Field drills on St. Croix and St. Thomas included evacuation sheltering and points of distribution. The Department of Human Services led the setup of shelters and distribution points with support from the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency and FEMA. The American Red Cross assisted with shelter registration, and the Department of Education provided drill sites at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School on St. Thomas, Educational Complex on St. Croix and Central High School on St. Croix. Crown Bay Marina on St. Thomas was used for another distribution drill with support from the Virgin Islands Port Authority.

The exercises also included training for territorial staff on joint preliminary damage assessments for FEMA's Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs. Government House said those assessments may be required in seeking a presidential major disaster declaration.

Other activities included operational integration exercises between FEMA and VITEMA, social media simulation exercises, airfield assessments on St. Thomas and St. Croix, degraded-communications drills, a patient evacuation tabletop exercise, a medical-needs shelter tabletop exercise, a continuity-of-operations workshop for government agencies and a law-enforcement and federal-security workshop.

The exercise concluded with a briefing for Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. at Government House on St. Croix, where territorial agency leads summarized the exercises, reviewed preparedness measures and discussed challenges. Government House said territorial and federal partners planned to focus in June and July 2023 on corrective actions identified during the exercises.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/exercises-strengthen-territorial-federal-partners-preparedness-for-hurricane-season/