|
|
|
Last Updated: May 18th, 2007 - 16:21:04 |
Source: http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=12643
There are just two weeks left until the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season gets underway and interim Director of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Carl Smith, said Thursday the agency has already started preparing for whatever the hurricane season may bring.
Forecasters also say there is an above average probability of a major hurricane making landfall in the Caribbean.
Mr. Smith said that throughout the year NEMA has been engaged in a number of training activities focused on shelter management, damage and needs assessment and community emergency response training.
"The reality is that we live in a hurricane zone and hurricanes are the biggest threat faced by The Bahamas every year," Mr. Smith said at a press conference at the Cabinet Office in downtown Nassau.
 |
| Carl Smith, under secretary in the Cabinet and interim director of NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency) and Lt. Comm. Herbert Bain, left, logistics officer for NEMA, display the NEMA Hurricane Preparedness guides during a press conference to inform the public of the upcoming hurricane season on Thursday. |
"We need to be prepared for all contingences and have the best hurricane plans possible."
Mr. Smith urged Bahamians to break free of their lackadaisical approach to hurricane preparedness. He said hurricane preparedness and response are really about teamwork.
"Every resident of The Bahamas must assume some responsibility for preparedness and recognize that they are a member of a team," he said.
"A team has many players, including a captain, players and a bench."
Some of the entities in partnership with NEMA are the Red Cross, Princess Margaret Hospital and the Department of Public Health, The Ministry of Public Works, the Royal Bahamas Police and Defence Forces, the Bahamas Electricity Corporation and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company.
Representatives from each agency spoke of their preparation for this year’s hurricane season.
"The preparations at the hospital are well underway; we are currently doing training and retraining with the staff and all other preparations will be completed by the end of the month," said Michelle Roach, Deputy Hospital Administrator at PMH.
Senior Deputy Director at the Department of Meteorology, Trevor Basden, explained that the department has upgraded its Doppler weather radar which tracks weather from as far as Acklins and Crooked Islands in the southeast Bahamas to as far as Melbourne, Florida in the north.
He said the department has included a lightening detection system which would allow for any sort of severe weather to be detected.
"We are confident that with the combination of these systems, we have The Bahamas well covered in terms of any weather that may move through The Bahamas during this hurricane season," he said.
Assistant Engineer at BEC Robert Hall said the corporation has formed a liaison with an association in the Caribbean so that in the event that it needs outside assistance, that assistance would be readily available.
"Our preparations for the hurricane season begin well before June 1 and we currently have reviewed our hurricane response plans, met with the teams that are responsible for the restoration process and we have our ongoing tree trimming and pole replacement programmes well underway," he said.
NEMA is encouraging all residents of The Bahamas to participate in Hurricane Preparedness Week, which will be observed June 3 – 9.
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
