NASSAU, The Bahamas – Bahamians are reminded to always be in a state of readiness, should a hurricane hit these shores, as the 2007 Atlantic season approaches.
This advice came from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Government department charged with coordinating national hurricane preparedness and response, during a press conference Thursday, May 17 at the Cabinet Office.
“One of the challenges we have faced as a country is getting our people to understand that they need to embrace the culture of preparedness, and that they need to heed the advise that comes from our authorities,” said Mr. Carl Smith, Under Secretary to the Cabinet Office and interim Director of NEMA.
He urged Bahamians and residents to tune in to advisories from the Bahamas’ Department of Meteorology, which issues advance warnings in the event there needs to be an evacuation exercise.
Mr Smith recalled the devastation wrought by Hurricane Wilma to the coastline of Grand Bahama. It was learnt that residents listened to Florida weather advisories instead of warnings from local weather experts.
“This is not something that we encourage, because we cannot put our emergency response team personnel at risk,” Mr. Smith said. “The public needs to understand that each event is different. So this culture of lack of preparedness to some extent is not unique to Bahamians; its something we have to overcome.”
NEMA is committed to working continuously towards getting the country in a state of disaster preparedness, he said and advised the media they too could play “a very critical role” in this public awareness exercise.
Mr Smith said the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season would be more active than the average over 1950 to 2000 seasons. It is estimated that 2007 will have about 17 named storms (average is 9.6), nine hurricanes (average is 5.9), and five intense (category 3, 4, or 5) hurricanes. Additionally, estimates are that there is an above average probability of a major hurricane-making landfall in the Caribbean.
“As we are now only two weeks from the official start of the hurricane season, which commences June 1 and ends November 30, it is our hope that residents would have heeded that advice.
“Residents are advised not to procrastinate any further with their preparedness. Indeed, they should always be prepared.
“The reality is that we live in a hurricane zone and hurricanes are the biggest threat to The Bahamas every year,” Mr. Smith said.
NEMA has, throughout the year, been engaged in a number of training activities such as Shelter Management, Damage and Needs Assessment, and Community Emergency Response Team training.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week will be observed June 3 to 9. Activities will include:
• Information on hurricane preparedness in local newspapers to supplement the various information brochures;
• Radio and television talk shows featuring speakers from various agencies;
• An exhibition at the Mall at Marathon from June 7 to 9. The display will feature information booths by various agencies that play primary roles in hurricane preparedness and response.
Similar activities will be observed in Grand Bahama and the Family Islands.
