Page 13 - DDME "The Disaster Forum"

- ARTICLE -
Dr Virginia Clerveaux, Director
Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies
The Turks and Caicos Islands 2019 State of Readiness for the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season
OVERVIEW
The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1st and will run until November 30th. As at June 4, 2019, the forecasters at the Colorado State University (CSU) have slightly upped the number of expected hurricanes this year, citing warming seas in the tropical Atlantic Ocean as a reason for this. The forecasters are now predicting six hurricanes — up from the previous prediction of five in April. The projected number of named storms, including tropical storms, has also increased from 13 to 14. However, the prediction of two major hurricanes remains unchanged.
While the hurricane season runs from June to November, it is important to note that storms have formed outside of the season as we saw with Subtropical Storm Andrea formed on May 1st, making 2019 the fifth consecutive year to have a named storm outside of the Atlantic hurricane season.
For the purpose of comparison, it is important to note that, the average Atlantic hurricane season from 1981-2010 saw 12.1 named storms and 6.4 hurricanes. Of those, 2.7 strengthened into major hurricanes of Category 3, 4 or 5, packing sustained wind speeds of 111 mph and greater.
Whether this year will be a slightly below season, a near normal season or an active season, it is important for every resident of the TCI to prepare as if they are expecting a direct impact from a major storm. Remember, it is easier to scale down than to scale up preparations. The tendency is for persons to get complacent when the predictions are that of a below average or average hurricane season. However, let us be reminded that some of the most destructive hurricanes actually occurred during the times when it was predicted to be a below average season. We can think of Hurricane Andrew 1992 impacting Florida. The forecasters of CSU had forecasted one major hurricane, 'and there was one — it was Hurricane Andrew'. Then in 2010, another below average season where we had 12 hurricanes in the Atlantic basin and tropical storm Nicole causing serious impact due to flooding in Jamaica, Cuba, Florida and the Cayman Islands. Therefore, my follow residents, we must prepare and remain in a state of preparedness regardless of the predic@ons.
With this knowledge, DDME along with the various Government en@@es have taken concrete steps to prepare to the best of its ability for whatever mother nature may send our way.
1. Stakeholder MeeTng & ConsultaTon
Since the beginning of the year the Governor and the Premier have hosted approximately 6 state of preparedness mee@ngs with the chairs and deputy chairs of our na@onal disaster subcommiSees in order to ensure that steps are being taken to effec@vely prepare for the hurricane season and to address gaps and challenges where they may exist. This my fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders is unprecedented and something that we can feel proud of given this high level of buy-in.
2. Public Awareness Campaign
During the month of May DDME hosted its annual Hurricane Preparedness Month Public Awareness Campaign where we conducted a series of media interviews, schools and private business outreach programs, held a disaster preparedness exposi@on and a church service and distributed public awareness materials etc.
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