IT is far better to be well prepared than under prepared.

That was the comment yesterday from Colonel Rodney Smart, acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and follows Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley's criticism of the Government's decision last Friday to effectively shut down the country in preparation for Tropical Storm Tomas.

"The ODPM is of the firm belief that it's better to have a well prepared citizenry that an under prepared one," Smart stated yesterday in an ODPM press release.

"Other islands that experienced the full extent of Hurricane Tomas have since indicated that they felt that they were neither prepared nor appropriately informed by their national disaster office," he stated.

While the ODPM did not specifically refer to statements made by Rowley on Saturday, the release treated with some of the issues raised by him. In addressing the Women's League of the People's National Movement (PNM), Rowley said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar "overreacted" about Friday's storm warnings.

He also took the ODPM to task.

"In their (ODPM) desperation to please they shut the country down since yesterday (Friday) morning, causing millions of dollars in losses-more than what would have been caused by a storm," Rowley said.

In yesterday's release, Smart stated, "the ODPM understands the importance of productivity especially in the current climate and would only in the most critical of circumstances advise of a need to evacuate".

"Furthermore, we understand that productivity, while extremely important must be considered in the context of national safety and security for all citizens," Smart stated.

The PNM on Sunday posted on its Facebook page a release entitled "Rowley's true position on the response to the threat of Tomas".

There must be a distinction between preparation, overreaction and panic, Rowley stated in the release.

"What is therefore being said is that while the Met (Meteorological) Office gave us accurate reports on the weather conditions; it was the ODPM which overreacted in its response by advising a shutdown of the country (even though at the time we were doing this, the threat was only that of a tropical wave which had already begun to turn away)," Rowley stated.

"In dealing with natural disasters, it is always necessary to be prepared for any eventuality. However a distinction must be made between preparation, overreaction and panic," he stated.