Disaster Section Head Paul Martens said disaster management officials attending the National Hurricane Conference (NHC) in Atlanta, Georgia, expect an above average hurricane season.
Martens said the NHC being a platform for networking, allowed the Sint Maarten delegation to interact with colleagues from around the region and the USA.
"Sint Maarten has become an example for the region in the field of disaster management and mitigation over the years," Disaster Section Head Paul Martens told the Department of Communications (DCOMM) on Wednesday.
Disaster Coordinator Fire Chief Winston Salomon also attended the conference.
Martens said that next year the Tropical Island sessions of the conference will focus on an overview of the past hurricane season; climate change and its effects on the Caribbean; tsunami; flooding; building codes; hurricane awareness and avoiding complacency.
Emphasis will also be placed on using newer modes of communication such as social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and other social media.
The primary goal of the NHC was to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific.
In addition, the conference served as a national forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency Management.
"Attending the conference was refreshing with respect to the upcoming season and it allowed us to also interact with regional colleagues and exchange information and idea in the area of disaster management and planning," Martens concluded on Wednesday.