Thousands volunteer for Easter Week duty

[NewsWhore]

More than 5000 youngsters have volunteered for the Civil Defense Operation "Holy Week Reflection 2008" which begins this Thursday (20 March) and ends on Easter Sunday (23 March). The volunteers, mostly young people between the ages of 18 and 35 have to face many hardships in order to help people in need. The Civil Defense office is the lead organization of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), which together with 21 other institutions helps out in local or national emergencies. All told, the COE will have 31,000 people staffing the 2,125 aid stations throughout the country. The aim, this year, is to reduce the death toll on the country's highways. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death on the holiday weekends, and most of the dead are young people between the ages of 18 and 39, according to Hoy newspaper. The COE will have two mobile hospitals on duty; one in Boca Chica and one at La Cumbre on the Duarte Highway. Drinking and driving was cited as a major cause of the fatal accidents. Among other measures, large trucks are banned from the highways beginning at 6am on Thursday, and trucks that supply food and fuel will have to request permission to travel. Any animal near a highway will be removed by the authorities. Motorcyclists and pickup trucks with people in the back will be stopped by AMET, National Police or Civil Defense agents. All swimmers will be asked to leave the water at 6pm. Drivers caught drinking and driving will face the seizure of the vehicle and fines.

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