BL&P ready to serve Bahamas

Personnel from the Barbados Light & Power (BL&P) is on standby to travel to hurricane-ravaged Bahamas.

Category 4 Hurricane Dorian – the second strongest Atlantic hurricane on record – pummeled Bahamas from Sunday night, packing maximum winds of 185 miles per hour and dumping up to 20 feet of rain.

It is estimated that the damage from Hurricane Dorian could be in the region of US$8 billion.

During a press conference this afternoon, the company’s Director of Operations Johann Greaves said a five-member team was on standby to travel as soon as possible to lend assistance.

“At the beginning of every hurricane season we identify volunteers who are willing to go on these missions…so we’re looking to dispatch a five-person team to the Bahamas as soon as they are ready for us to come in,” Greaves said.

“We anticipate in another week, week and a half, we will be dispatching a crew. They normally will stay out there for between three to four weeks and during that period they will work 12-hour days, probably 10 days at a time without any breaks. But it is something we have done for many years…so they are well up to the task and the conditions that they will be expected to deal with when they get there.”

During the briefing Managing Director Roger Blackman revealed that some BL&P staff members were currently in Grand Bahama, which had also been significantly impacted by Dorian.

“We have some colleagues in Grand Bahama that are currently experiencing the onslaught of Hurricane Dorian and based on the information that has been shared in the media, it is one of the worst hurricanes in history and unfortunately it seems to be sitting on top of them moving very slowly.

“We await reports from our colleagues there, but it is not looking so good right now, so I encourage everyone to keep them in your thoughts and prayers just as we have been doing,” Blackman said.