NEMA Urges Hurricane Season Preparations
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Captain Stephen Russell urges hurricane preparations amid the COVID-19 pandemic
NEMA said it is gearing up its mandate to ensure that adequate preparedness and mitigation measures, and response and recovery mechanisms, are in place as it prepares to navigate through the upcoming 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Captain Stephen Russell said, “As we prepare for the 2020 Hurricane Season, which spans June 1 to November 30, several major forecasting centres are predicting a more active than usual season.”
The theme for this season is: “Building A Disaster Resilient Bahamas”
Remembering the devastations of Hurricane Dorian last September, Russell said the public should now begin making preparations.
“We are still very much aware of the 2019 Hurricane Season, which saw Hurricane Dorian as an extremely powerful and devastating Category 5 Hurricane that became the most intense storm on record to hit the Bahamas.
“It is also regarded as the worst natural disaster in our country’s history,” Captain Russell said.
The fourth named storm of the season, Dorian struck Abaco and its Cays on September 1, 2019 with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.
The storm went on to strike Grand Bahama at similar intensity, stalling just north of the area with unrelenting winds for at least 24 hours.
Dorian left catastrophic results in its wake as most structures were severely damaged or destroyed with some were swept out to sea.
Thousands were left homeless. There were 74 official deaths, with an estimated $3.4 billion in damage and losses.
