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1 Hurricane Season 2026 Readiness PRESENTED BY DARYL D. JASCHEN DIRECTOR VIRGIN ISLANDS TERRITORIAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY Submitted to SENATOR MARISE C. JAMES, Esq. CHAIR Senate Committee on Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure & Planning Frits E. Lawaetz Legislative Conference Room, St. Croix June 30, 2026 2 | P a g e OPENING COMMENTS 2 Good afternoon Senator Marise C. James, Esq., Chair of the Committee on Disaster Recovery, 3 Infrastructure & Planning, and all other senators present, members of the 36th legislative staff and 4 those in the viewing and listening audience. I am Daryl D. Jaschen, Director of the Virgin Islands 5 Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA). Today I will provide an update on the 6 Government of the US Virgin Islands Hurricane Season 2026 readiness posture. In my prepared 7 testimony today, topics covered will include the status VITEMA’s Emergency Operations Center 8 readiness, support to the Department of Human Services in Health and Welfare checks following 9 a major Hurricane for individuals on their Senior Registry, and the coordination activities 10 completed with Territory Emergency Support Function (ESF) lead agencies. 11 12 EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTERS 13 VITEMA maintains three (3) Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) with full-time VITEMA 14 Supervisors, which are available during non-activation times, from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday – 15 Friday. The EOC on St. Croix is in a rented three-story building in downtown Christiansted. EOC, 16 able to accommodate 35 individuals, has a working 150kw generator and fuel supply for 5-days, 17 and emergency backup communications, to include VHF radio and HF radio. There are 15-satellite 18 phones located in the EOC to be issued out to pre-designated GVI agency leaders, and there are 19 two (2) backup internet connections available via Starlink antennas (Standard v3 and mini). An 20 emergency fuel contract exists and the account is paid-up. An alternate St. Croix EOC is identified 21 as part of VITEMA’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) located at the Bureau of Information 22 Technology facility, approximately 3 miles away. VITEMA has conducted one separate exercise 23 activation from the alternate EOC. 24 The EOC on St. Thomas, able to accommodate 35 individuals, is located across the East end of 25 the CEKA runway and is owned by the Government of the USVI. The EOC has a working 430kw 26 generator and fuel supply for 5-days, and emergency backup communications, identical to that on 27 St. Croix. An emergency fuel contract exists and the account is paid-up. Due to Phase II of our 28 Hurricane Irma Public Assistance recovery project, the St. Thomas EOC will be unavailable for 29 approximately 365-days, once repairs begin. Currently, VITEMA is in the construction contract 30 bid process, but anticipates beginning repairs in August 2026. An alternate St. Thomas EOC is 31 identified as part of its COOP is located at the Omar Brown Fire Station, approximately 2.5 miles 32 3 | P a g e away. VITEMA has conducted two separate exercise activations from the alternate EOC, to 33 include the most recent Hurricane Readiness Capstone Exercise. 34 The EOC on St. John, able to accommodate 16 individuals and is just off Centerline Road, located 35 across from the Myra Keating Smith Clinic, and is owned by the Department of Public Works. It 36 has a working 20kw generator and fuel supply for 3-days, and emergency backup communications, 37 identical to of the EOCs on St. Croix and St. Thomas. An emergency fuel contract exists and the 38 account is paid-up. The alternate St. John EOC is identified as part its COOP is located at the St. 39 John Volunteer Rescue facility, approximately ½ mile away. VITEMA has conducted two separate 40 exercise activations from the alternate EOC, to include the most recent Hurricane Readiness 41 Capstone Exercise. 42 Other Agency Continuity of Operations Plans 43 An integral part of the US Virgin Islands EMAP accreditation program is the development, agency 44 approval, and testing of agency Emergency Support Function (ESF) Continuity of Operations 45 Plans. All ESFs developed their initial COOPs in 2022 and are approved by their senior leader. 46 Currently four (4) are in the process of being reviewed and updated (DPP, BIT, DPW, VITEMA) 47 and 10 are scheduled to be issued in July 2026 to agency leaders for review and signature 48 (VIFEMS, DHS, DPP, DOH, VIFEMS, DOA, VIEO, VIPD, DLCA, JIC). 49 50 SENIOR REGISTRY 51 The Department of Human Services develops and maintains the Senior Registry, as required by 52 Act No. 8058 effective June 25, 2018, from Bill No. 32-0064 sponsored by Senator DeGraff with 53 is a listing of Seniors over the age of 60 who live alone or any individual, regardless of age, living 54 alone with a disability. As of May 2026, there are a total of 964 individuals who have voluntarily 55 sign-up to be on the Senior Registry. St. Thomas has 554 individuals, St. Croix has 310 individuals, 56 St. John has 100 individuals, and Water Island has none. Applications for the Senior Registry are 57 located at the Department of Human Services, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and Election System 58 Offices. Copies of the Senior Registry are provided prior to Hurricane Season to VITEMA, 9-1-1 59 Emergency Communications, and VI Fire and Emergency Medical Services. Following a major 60 disaster, the Commissioner of Human Services, VITEMA Director, and VIFEMS Director 61 determine the need for post-disaster Health and Welfare Checks of individuals in impacted area. 62 63 4 | P a g e TERRITORY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN 64 As required by EMAP, US Virgin Islands maintains an Emergency Operations Plan. Our current 65 TEOP, approved in December 2024, has five (5) main purposes. First, it identifies the role of 66 territorial government and coordinating non-governmental organization (NGO) and private sector 67 partners before, during, and after a disaster, large-scale emergency, or event affecting the U.S. 68 Virgin Islands. Second, it establishes the concepts and policies under which all elements of the 69 territorial government and coordinating NGOs and private sector partners will operate during 70 emergencies. Third, it outlines responsibilities of Territorial government officials, agencies, and 71 private organizations that the annexes specify in more detail. Fourth, it provides a framework 72 within which more detailed emergency plans or procedures can be developed and maintained. And 73 fifth, provides a framework for a prompt, effective and seamless assistance to U.S. Virgin Islands 74 and individual Districts with federal assistance is requested. 75 The structure of the TEOP describes a territory-wide, integrated approach to incident management 76 and includes overarching planning assumptions, roles and responsibilities, concept of operations, 77 specific hazard plans, and plan maintenance guidance. The included Emergency Support Function 78 (ESF) specific annexes and appendices provide an all-hazard overview from coordination agencies 79 with input from stakeholders. The hazard-specific annexes and appendices provide a detailed 80 concept of operations tailored specifically to the most-likely incidents to cause catastrophic impact 81 to the Territory. 82 The TEOP identifies private sector responsibilities to establish a Business Emergency Operations 83 Center (BEOC) that consists as an integration point for private and public coordination for 84 sustained response and recovery operations. The BEOC is comprised of volunteers from the 85 private sector with duties specific to designated Community Lifelines model. The BEOC has been 86 established, and supports the EOC as needed, through planning, engagement and integration of 87 private sector partners. A BEOC liaison from DLCA integrates with the EOC upon activation and 88 is the point of contact to the BEOC for all requests and support needed. 89 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL 90 As identified in the TEOP and required by Title 23, Chapter 10, Subchapter I, section 1007, 91 VITEMA establishes and maintains an active Emergency Management Council. Required 92 membership in the council includes 93 o Director of VITEMA, who serves as Chairman 94 5 | P a g e o Any commissioners of the departments within the executive branch of the 95 Government 96 o Attorney General of the Virgin Islands 97 o Any directors of the agencies and bureaus within the executive branch of the 98 Government 99 o The Adjutant General of VING 100 o The executive directors of the following semiautonomous agencies, 101 instrumentalities, or public corporations of the Government: 102 (A) Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority 103 (B) Virgin Islands Port Authority 104 (C) West Indian Company, Ltd 105 (D) Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority 106 (E) Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority 107 (F) Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority 108 (G) Virgin Islands Public Services Commission 109 (H) Government Employees Retirement System 110 (I) Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority 111 (J) University of the Virgin Islands 112 (K) Virgin Islands Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation 113 (L) Schneider Regional Medical Center 114 (M) Juan F. Luis Hospital 115 o Corporation or other business entity that operates in the Virgin Islands as a public 116 utility regulated by the Public Services Commission, per title 30, VIC. 117 o Private sector entities, including, but not limited to, the chambers of commerce, 118 hotel associations, and other entities, which may be invited to serve on the EMC by 119 the Governor in consultation with the Director 120 The Emergency Management Council under the Bryan – Roach administration meets monthly, 121 usually the third Thursday of each month with Territory senior leadership represented by the 122 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Chief of Staff. Invitations go out to 75 different government, 123 public and private sector leaders, to include FEMA, US Cost Guard, and the National Weather 124 Service, with a consistent 60 percent attendance. The purpose of the Council is to 125 6 | P a g e (1) Plan for and coordinate the federal and territorial emergency management programs 126 with FEMA and any other federal or territorial agencies, or other appropriate public or 127 private entities. 128 (2) Assist the Territorial Coordinating Officer in responding to the Federal Coordinating 129 Officer, or other appropriate federal agents or officers, in the event the President approves 130 a request from the Governor for an emergency declaration or major disaster declaration. 131 (3) Provide goals and objectives to the Director for implementing the TEOP 132 (4) Work with the Director and all other government agencies, to establish standards for 133 the operations and activities of the Government related to homeland security efforts 134 The Council also services as the EMAP Advisory Committee and receives quarterly updates on 135 the program compliance. One of the additional requirements for members of the Council is to 136 annually designate their agency Emergency Services Coordinators (ESCs) to the VITEMA 137 Director. The persons designated as ESCs represent the agency during EOC activations and 138 training events. 139 140 VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL GUARD 141 142 Integral to the success of the US Virgin Islands’ immediate response from a major hurricane is 143 activation of our local Virgin Islands National Guard (VING) which has Army units located on 144 the Islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix and Airforce units which are located on the Island of St. 145 7 | P a g e Croix. The Joint Force Headquarters is located on the Island of St. Croix. Currently, there are no 146 National Guard units positioned on the island of St. John or Water Island. The VING is prepared 147 to support our local lead agencies under a Territory State of Emergency or Federal Major Disaster 148 Declaration in a Territorial Active Duty (TAD) status covering the following mission assignments. 149 1) Immediate Response Teams in support of VIFEMS in urban search and rescue. 150 2) Route Clearance in support of DPW 151 3) Debris Removal in support of VIWMA 152 4) Public Shelters in support of DHS 153 5) Points of Distribution in support of DHS 154 6) Traffic Control Points in support of VIPD 155 7) Critical Infrastructure Recovery in support of BIT, DPW and DOH 156 8) Patient Movement in support of DOH and US HHS 157 9) Dual Status Commander in support of Governor and POTUS 158 CAPSTONE EXERCISE 159 VITEMA, FEMA, and Lead Emergency Support Function agencies conducted 2026 Hurricane 160 Readiness Capstone Exercise from 1-5 June based on a Hurricane Steve, Category 3 scenario 161 impacting the Island of St. John with major damage, medium damage to the Island of St. Thomas, 162 and minor damage to the island of St. Croix. The exercise focused on seven areas under Response 163 and Recovery: EOC Activation and Operational Readiness, Inter-Island Coordination and 164 Communications Systems, St. John Operations, Shelters (Congregate and Medical Special Needs), 165 Temporary Power and Generator Readiness, Recovery (Individual Assistance and Public 166 Assistance), and Crisis and Public Information. Activation of VITEMA Emergency Operations 167 Centers included FEMA participation with development of initial response goals, tactics and 168 planning meetings, and a Joint Incident Action Plan. 169 VITEMA and FEMA jointly conducted an After-Action Review (AAR). The AAR report, 170 completed on June 23, is currently in draft and under review by the VITEMA Director. The report 171 identifies seven strengths / sustains and five areas for improvement, with each area having 172 recommendations for improvement. The overall summary of the Capstone event captured in the 173 AAR Report is as follows, “The 2026 Capstone Readiness Initiative demonstrated meaningful 174 progress in joint IAP development, federal partner integration, and EOC activation procedures. 175 8 | P a g e The achievement of a published joint incident action plan for the first time represents a significant 176 milestone in inter-island coordination. However, consistent themes across this review (WebEOC 177 underutilization, St. John operational gaps, shelter staff vulnerabilities, POD role confusion, and 178 communication quality) reflect systematic challenges that require structured corrective action 179 before hurricane season. Several of these findings parallel gaps identified in past events, proving 180 that priority recommendations from other reports have not yet been fully implemented. Aligning 181 corrective actions through the Continuous Improvement Working Group (CIWG) and the 182 Continuous Improvement Plan will strengthen accountability and focus remediation efforts where 183 they are most needed.” 184 CLOSING COMMENTS 185 The US Virgin Islands Agencies and Federal Partners are ready for the 2026 Hurricane Season. 186 We have exercised our plans and integration with our Federal Partners, local National Guard, and 187 have identified areas where the Territory is quickly overwhelmed during a Hurricane immediate 188 response. Leveraging these known gaps and ability for the Governor to formally request assistance 189 under the Stafford Act, we have pre-identified mission requests for either State-to-State support 190 through Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) or request to our Federal partners 191 through the FEMA Resource Request Form process. Thank you, Committee Chair, Senator Marise 192 C. James, Esq. for the opportunity to present our US Virgin Islands Hurricane Season 2026 193 readiness posture. My colleagues and I are prepared to answer any questions from the committee. 194