Mr Alan Huckle, Governor of Anguilla visited that country's Red Cross headquarters on Wednesday August 11 th , 2004.

 Mr Huckle was given a tour of the headquarters' office and storage areas by President of the Red Cross, Ms Doreen James. He also attended the Red Cross' general meeting.

 The Governor is also the chairperson of the National Disaster Preparedness Committee of which the Anguilla Red Cross is a member.

 At the meeting, he pointed out that one of the key things that he would like to see is proper disaster preparedness in Anguilla . He added that the potential for catastrophe is very high. He said Anguilla is a small island with a very fragile economic base.

 "It has an up market tourism industry that relies on beaches that can be taken out easily by a strong storm. This is why planning and disaster mitigation through the whole disaster process from risk analysis and building regulations to recovery is very important."

 Mr Huckle indicated that while the have been national hurricane and oil spill plans since the late 1990s, there is still more that people can do in the event of an emergency.