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Richards tells community to be prepared, vigilant
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Jun 1, 2007 14:25 UTC
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~ As Hurricane Season starts ~
PHILIPSBURG - Today marks the start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which forecasters predict will be above average with seventeen tropical storms. Nine are expected to grow to hurricane strength.
St. Maarten’s position in the hurricane belt calls for residents to be prepared should a storm threaten, Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards said in a Government Information Service (GIS) statement.
“Time and time again we have had the experience and have been taught to be prepared and not wait until the last minute to gather our stuff together, because then it would have already been too late. Prepare early in order for you and your family to be able to ride out the storm in a safe manner,” said Richards.
While residents are expected to stock up on necessities and hurricane kits, and to brush up on their hurricane safety plans, the Emergency Support Function (ESF) organisations and Disaster Preparedness committee, headed by Richards, met earlier this week to synchronise efforts.
Represented at the emergency preparedness meeting were the Department of Public Works, Sector Health Care Affairs (SHCA), utilities company GEBE, police, Sector Social Welfare, TelEm and the Island Secretariat. Each representative gave Disaster Coordinator/Fire Chief Winston Salomon updates on preparations for the season.
Public Works crews are cleaning trenches in the districts and Fresh Pond will be dredged to increase its carrying capacity of rainwater in the case of heavy rainfall.
The floodwater pumping stations in Sucker Garden have been checked to make sure they are in good working order for the season. Public Works has also been assisting the community councils with district cleanups and tearing down of old shacks.
SHCA has updated its hurricane manual to help guide residents and business in mitigating hurricane issues.
Nearly all GEBE’s high tension electrical lines are underground. This will ensure continuous power supply to resident should a storm hit, a service that would have been interrupted if cables were still aboveground and susceptible to the weather. Placing the low tension lines underground is ongoing.
Tree limbs near lamp poles are being trimmed. As a back-up plan, GEBE has established a cooperation relationship with the electrical companies of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation Carilec for assistance in the event of a hurricane strike.
The police are ready for the season and already have a standard protocol in place in the eventuality of a hurricane strike. Sector Social Welfare confirmed 11 hurricane shelters ready for the season, with another three pending approval.
TelEm is ready for the season and so is the Island Secretariat, which is ready to guarantee the continuation of the functioning of the civil service corps in the event of a storm.
ESFs were informed that the Royal Dutch Marines and Royal Navy were prepared to render whatever assistance might be needed before, during and after a hurricane strike.
According to the revised forecast from the Colorado State University hurricane research team founded by forecast pioneer William Gray, five of the 19 storms will grow into major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher with winds over 110 mph (177 kph).
The researchers said there was a 74 per cent chance that at least one major hurricane would hit the U.S. coastline in 2007, with a 50 per cent chance that it would happen on the U.S. Atlantic Coast and a 49 per cent chance on the Gulf of Mexico coast.
An average season brings 11 tropical storms, with six reaching hurricane wind speed of 74 mph (119 kph) and two growing into major hurricanes.
Other private and U.S. government weather researchers have also predicted a more active season than average. But so far none have forecast anything like a repeat of record-breaking 2005, when 28 tropical storms spawned 15 hurricanes, including Katrina which flooded New Orleans and parts of the Gulf coast.
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