disaster management seminar.

Dr. Michael Brown -- a professor at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and a disaster management consultant with the Pan American Health Organisation/WHO -- set up the Mass Casualty Clearing Unit (MCCU) of the Barbados Defence Force as part of a disaster response plan for the Caribbean in 1985.

Since that time, the defence force -- for which Dr. Brown is the medical co-ordinator -- has held an annual exercise called "Operation Trade Winds'' for both military and civilian components of the MCCU.

In Bermuda, Dr. Brown will take part in the three-day seminar which will begin today.

The seminar organised by the Emergency Measures Organisation or EMO will aim to: Update knowledge and skills; Review present disaster policies and procedures; and Liaise with other organisations on pre- and post-disaster preparedness and relief.

"The EMO's participation in this seminar is a part of its commitment to developing Bermuda's disaster preparedness and management capability,'' EMO's disaster co-ordinator Mr. Lowdru Robinson.

"This training exercise will help those community organisations involved in responding to a disaster to upgrade their knowledge and skills and increase their ability to cope with disasters.''