By The Star Staff
Vieques Mayor José “Junito” Corcino Acevedo announced Monday that the offshore island municipality’s emergency operations center (EOC) is ready for the next atmospheric phenomenon that passes through or close to Puerto Rico.
“The EOC of the municipality of Vieques is ready to deal with any situation,” the mayor said in a press release. “During recent months we have outlined, together with federal and state agencies, a contingency plan in case of being impacted by any atmospheric phenomenon. Our EOC has the highest technology, as well as the trained personnel to handle any event.”
Corcino Acevedo added that if an impact is imminent, the Maria M. Simons school facilities will be enabled to serve as a shelter.
The EOC is located in the former Mercedes de Ruiz School (Milivy) in the Santa María de Vieques neighborhood.
“Our EOC is composed of elements of the municipal police and the emergency corps of the municipality, as well as state agencies such as the departments of Public Safety, Family, Education -- for shelters -- and Health, in addition to the bureaus of Police, Fire and Medical Emergencies,” the mayor noted. “We also have liaisons with the National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well as the federal government’s Fish and Wildlife Service. We have first-class radio frequency communication systems and all-terrain vehicles for emergency interventions.”
The EOC facility, meanwhile, has an emergency electrical generator system of about 30 tons and a second backup system based on solar technology that would provide electricity to the EOC uninterruptedly.
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