CDP continues to expand training footprint in U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

The Center for Domestic Preparedness continues to expand its footprint in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.  

This fall, the CDP delivered 11 different courses, all virtually, to responders in the U.S. territories. Three additional courses are on tap to be delivered, also virtually, this month.

In addition, several responders in these areas recently attended resident training on the CDP campus in Alabama.

The concerted effort to improve the preparedness and resilience of these territories builds on training the CDP conducted in Puerto Rico in 2018 and 2019, following hurricanes Irma and Maria, when it helped prepare a more than 1,000 of the island’s public health and healthcare workers for future disasters.

And it builds on virtual training the CDP conducted over the summer when it delivered multiple courses and trained more than 500 responders in the two territories.  

Additional courses will be delivered as the center, in conjunction with other FEMA entities, the Virgin Islands’ Territorial Emergency Management Agency, the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Bureau and the Puerto Rico Department of Health identify additional training needs, say officials.

All the training is timely.

The U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico experience a tropical storm about once every five years and it typically causes catastrophic damage to those areas. Both territories have also experienced strong earthquakes in recent years.