Disaster management is an important component of humanitarian operations undertaken by the military and was given due attention during the just-ended Exercise Southern Accord in Botswana.
Gaborone Technical College was where senior Botswana officers and officials alongside United States (US) military personnel, including elements of the North Carolina National Guard, as well as in the US via online communication, knuckled down to the business of disaster management. Among topics on the table were the host country’s national disaster management operation, from its functions through to response and relief when disaster strikes.
Senior Botswana Defence Force (BDF) officers and their civil service counterparts from government and parastatals including the Officer of the District Commissioner, Department of Meteorological Services, Botswana Prisons Service, Department of Forestry and Range Resources, Botswana Red Cross Society, Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana and Gaborone City Council met from 5 to 9 August.
Online participant US Army Lieutenant Colonel Josh Howell provided some insight to disaster reaction, elaborating on Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans in 2005. The Commander of the 190th Engineer Battalion attached to the Puerto Rico National Guard made points of the necessity for the correct equipment and training to ensure soldiers and other military personnel tasked to assist when disaster struck were properly prepared.
Those attending were told Botswana’s National Disaster Management Office is located in the Office of President Mokgweetsi Masisi to monitor, co-ordinate and respond to any rapid onset disaster in the landlocked country. Another important function of the office is to maintain strategic reserves of essential equipment and commodities at national and district levels for immediate response and relief with promoting awareness and education on disaster management another.
Botswana Principal Meteorologist Maureen Oabile told attendees the Meteorological Services Department uses television, radio and social media to provide early warning on potential weather related disasters. These include floods, fire and heatwaves.
