Second ‘COVID-19 hurricane season’ prompts preparedness call

As Barbados continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and with an above-average hurricane season predicted, Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams on Tuesday urged Barbadians to prepare themselves and not become complacent.

His caution came as he joined key officials in a press conference to mark the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

Acting Director of the Barbados Meteorological Services Sabu Best revealed yet another season of above-average activity between June and November 30.

While last year’s 30 named tropical storms were the most ever recorded, between 17 to 20 tropical storms were expected to form this year.

Best explained the two main phenomena attributing to an active 2021 hurricane season were the status of El Nino Southern Oscillation and the changes in water temperature in the Northern Atlantic, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.

Abrahams said while Barbados only had small-scale rain events last year it was necessary for residents to remain ready in the event a major system strikes the island.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s prevailing drought conditions and the recent ashfall from the La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the home affairs minister declared that Government is prepared for the 2021 hurricane season.

Abrahams said: “It is apparent that Barbados has been in a constant state of response dealing with hazard, after hazard, after hazard for an extended period. To ensure national-level operational readiness to respond to hazard events that we may experience during the 2021 hurricane season the Government through the National Emergency Management System continues to undertake our preparedness, readiness and coordination activities.

“The reality is that we will eventually have a significant weather event in Barbados and each year the odds of this happening gets greater and greater.

“In this season, complacency is our enemy. There is no room for complacency in this hurricane season. We have to get ourselves ready and we have to remain ready until the end of the hurricane season.”

Abrahams said Government has begun inspecting wells and flushing and cleaning drains to ensure all of the ash from the May volcanic eruption was removed to prevent blockages.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George gave an assurance that the island’s hospitals and polyclinics are prepared.

He revealed the Queen Elizabeth Hospital now has a new 50,000-gallon tank to contain water for several days if a hurricane was to strike and that the electricity generation capacity at polyclinics is “up to par” and their water storage capacities are “satisfactory”.

Dr George said the Ministry of Health and Wellness had set up two committees – an internal committee and a health services standing committee – to guide its preparedness efforts.

He too cautioned Barbadians about becoming complacent, even though the COVID-19 positivity rate has been trending further downwards in recent days.

Department of Emergency Management Director Kerry Hinds announced there are 33 Category 1 shelters and 58 Category 2 shelters available this season.

She said a number of audits were carried out earlier in the year resulting in various shelters being retrofitted and that all are in a state of readiness.

But she said due to COVID-19 restrictions and the need for social distancing, a total of 2,843 people are being allowed in the Category 1 shelters and 3,066 people in the Category 2 shelters. (RB)