The authorities from Aruba and Curaçao made a request to the Dutch Ministry of Defence to support them during and after the storm that will pass the islands in the coming hours. They responded quickly and made personnel and resources available.
On the island of Curaçao today started the ‘partnered’ performance of the Police Force of Curaçao (KPC) together with the Military Force of Curaçao (CURMIL). Mobile patrols are carried out from 4 KPC neighborhood offices with the aim of obtaining situational awareness so that the KPC established crisis center can respond adequately by deploying personnel and resources where it is needed.
In addition, if necessary, support can be provided in the evacuation of people and resources, the removal of injured persons, the performance of transport tasks, static and dynamic traffic management and law enforcement.
In Aruba there are 50 marines and material on stand-by, in order to support the local authorities where necessary with transport capacity, assistance with emergency services and provision of logistic resources.
The countries take the initiative themselves, around the coordination and management of the assignments and Defence supports where necessary with people and resources. In addition to the Defence resources already deployed, it is possible to scale up if necessary. Supporting local authorities is one of the three main tasks of the Dutch Defence forces in the Caribbean. They focus on immediate (emergency) aid during and after the storm passage. For now, the assistance ends on Friday 1 July in the afternoon. If the situation so requires, military assistance can be extended.