Philipsburg—As part of the Government of St. Maarten Hurricane Awareness campaign executed/carried out/implemented through the official channel of the Department of Communication (DCOMM), a number of radio and video Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have been created for the different target audiences in different languages, besides English, there are PSAs in French, Creole, and Spanish.
At the present moment all PSAs can be heard and seen throughout the day on SXM Gov radio station 107.9 and on the social media platforms of Government such as Facebook said Acting Department Head, Maurice Lake.
The PSAs are meant to inform the different publics so that they not only understand the content but that they will do what they can to mitigate the effects of an approaching Hurricane. And by reaching some people in different languages we are able to communicate directly with them, in a more personal way in their own language, Lake added.
There are five (5) Public Service Announcements (PSAs), dealing with important issues that the public must be aware of, namely, from what a hurricane is, and it’s potential devastating effects, and what to do when a Hurricane is approaching the island; tips to keep the family safe, a gab- or to-go bag with the emergency necessities needed; a reminder of what all to do to lessen the effects of a destructive Hurricane; what specific actions to take, from around the house and your general neighborhood to preparations in-house, securing the windows and doors, staying away from windows, and making sure food supplies are enough for up to seven-days for each person in the house.
DCOMM has already started airing all of the PSAs in the different languages on SXM Gov Radio Station 107.9 FM and has sent them to other media houses and radio stations for broadcast; they will be provided to the different community councils for placement on their Facebook Pages and to informal leader group chats to get the message out to every sector in our multicultural community, Lake further explained.
For official weather and hurricane related news for the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season, you can go to the Government’s information portals of DCOMM’s Facebook/sxmgov, YouTube/sxmgov and website www.sintmaartengov.org.
