VI to Host Regional Emergency Responders Training
The Virgin Islands will host a regional field deployment training exercise from February 23 to 28, bringing 15 Caribbean first-response personnel together with 16 local police and fire officers to rehearse large-scale disaster response operations. Led by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and organised by the Government of the Virgin Islands, the week-long programme prepares participants for rapid deployment as part of the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) and includes classroom instruction followed by a practical Category 4 hurricane simulation.
The Virgin Islands is hosting a regional field deployment training exercise from February 23 to 28 that will bring 15 Caribbean first-response personnel and 16 local police and fire officers together to practise large-scale disaster response operations, the Government of the Virgin Islands has said.
Led by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the week-long programme aims to prepare participants for rapid deployment as part of the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) to assist neighbouring CDEMA participating states after a disaster, according to the government press release.
Director of Disaster Management Jasen Penn said the exercise will strengthen regional capacity and improve the territory's ability to receive and coordinate outside assistance. "Training like this enhances the resilience of the entire region," Mr. Penn said, adding, "Our officers and the participants from neighbouring islands gain experience working together and practise responding to a major multi-island impact." The Government also noted that previous regional deployments supported responses to Hurricane Beryl, the La Soufrière eruption, and Hurricane Melissa, and that the most recent deployment to the Virgin Islands was in 2017 following Hurricane Irma.
Training will begin with classroom-style sessions covering Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) procedures, telecommunications and essential field skills for setting up operations in recently impacted locations. The practical component, scheduled for the final Friday and Saturday of the programme, will simulate a Category 4 hurricane striking Tortola and Virgin Gorda.
Under the scenario, participants must establish a base of operations on a sister island and connect with the Virgin Islands national emergency operations centre and the regional operations centre, the government said. The CDRU is normally made up of 35–40 officers with expertise in command and coordination, logistics and relief management, emergency telecommunications, medical care, engineering and skilled trades.
According to the Government of the Virgin Islands, CDRU officers are usually drawn from disciplined forces and emergency services across the region — including defence forces such as the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Barbados Defence Force, Belize Defence Force, Guyana Defence Force, Jamaica Defence Force, Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force, Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, Defence Force of Haiti and the Suriname National Army — as well as police services, fire services, coast guard units, marine police units and military air wings of CDEMA participating states.
For BVI residents the exercise promises practical benefits: faster, better-coordinated regional assistance after a major disaster; improved working relationships between local and regional responders; and hands-on rehearsals of the geographic and logistical challenges unique to the Virgin Islands, the Department of Disaster Management said.
The Department of Disaster Management — established to protect lives and foster comprehensive disaster management and climate change adaptation across the territory — is accredited by the Emergency Management Accreditation Programme (EMAP). The government press release also included a photo (Credit: CDEMA) showing participants at the March 2025 CDRU training programme in Barbados.
For media enquiries, the Government of the Virgin Islands listed BVIGovernment@dgagroup.com; the Department's Information & Education Manager, Chrystall Kanyuck-Abel, can be reached at ckanyuck-abel@gov.vg. Officials say the exercise is part of ongoing efforts to keep the territory and the region resilient and ready.
Primary source: BVI Government