The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines disaster as “any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services, on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area.” The recurring occurrence of various natural and man made disasters in recent decades have drawn the states’ focus towards ensuring the safety of life, as well as preparedness and mitigation measures; hence disaster management.

A wealthy twin-island nation, Trinidad and Tobago has had few serious disasters to challenge its capacity to cope with such incidents. Although several plans for disaster management exist, these have remained largely th eoretical exercises. However, recent instances of devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, with the accompanying tsunami in the latter, have prompted some steps towards an enhanced role for the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) in disaster management.

In recent years, the intensity of the occurrence of natural disasters has increased manifold. Responding to this, the Government of India has undertaken various measures to mitigate the impact of disasters. Even so, the response of the civil authorities is often found inadequate and the armed forces are called out to assist the civil administration. The armed forces never fail to respond in a prompt manner, but without proper data on various local resources, skills, essential services and equipment.