NDMA launches disaster plan and CERT training in Guraidhoo

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has launched the disaster management plan formulation programme for K. Guraidhoo. The workshops will run from Sunday to Thursday.

The workshop is attended by representatives from the Guraidhoo Council as well as key institutions on the island. The first three days of the programme will be dedicated to developing a disaster management plan.

The final two days will focus on training the Community-Based Emergency Response Team (CERT/SART), who will be deployed in the event of a disaster.

NDMA’s Director of Programmes, Research and Advocacy, Hassan Ziyau, said the work is being carried out with the participation of all institutions and stakeholders on the island. He said the last two days will be spent on SART training to prepare emergency response personnel.

NDMA, with support from UNDP Maldives, is conducting a workshop in K. Guraidhoo from 9–13 August 2026 to develop the island’s Disaster Management Plan and conduct a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Induction Workshop, marking the first pilot implementation of the revised… pic.twitter.com/xn7HgL7YUD

— NDMA Maldives (@NDMAmv) August 9, 2026

The programme is part of the Community-Based Resilience Building (CBRB) framework, which aims to reduce disaster risk and raise awareness at the island level.

The programme is supported by UNDP’s “Reads in Seeds” initiative, with assistance from Luxembourg, Denmark and South Korea.

The Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) framework, which has been in use since 2012, has now been revised with UNDP support to become the Community-Based Resilience Building (CBRB) framework.

NDMA has so far developed similar disaster management plans in 72 islands across the country and has decided to continue this work in other islands.

Guraidhoo, with a population of around 2,000, has historically faced severe flooding during heavy rain. There have been cases of flooding and damage to homes in the past.

However, the flooding issues have been remedied by far this year, said Council President Ibrahim Shaleez. He told Sun that previously, even moderate rainfall caused flooding in homes, but the problem has largely been addressed through the installation of drainage systems.