Although the tropical weather system named Chris lost steam as it barreled through the Atlantic yesterday, national emergency management officials were still on their guard and they advised Bahamas residents to do the same.
Those officials said preparing for the weather system gave them an “excellent opportunity” to ensure that they would be ready in the event a hurricane were to approach The Bahamas.
Chris was expected to be downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday afternoon and was unlikely to become a hurricane as was initially forecast, meteorological officials said.
However, up to press time, a tropical storm watch remained in effect for the Turks & Caicos as well as those in the southeastern Bahamas ﾖ Mayaguana, Inagua, Acklins, Crooked and Ragged Islands.
“We are satisfied that we have done our work in terms of preparing ourselves as an agency, our representatives in the Family Islands [and] in getting across to the public the need to always be in a state of readiness and to do so, over the course of the year,” said Interim Director of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Carl Smith during a press conference yesterday.
NEMA has hosted a conference for all Family Island administrators.
It has also hosted a number of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) exercises in both New Providence and Grand Bahama that trained representatives in CPR, basic first aid and fire fighting.
“We have also done shelter management and damage and needs assessment analyses courses,” Mr. Smith added.
“We have done workshops in communications, in terms of how to use the equipment that we have. So I am satisfied that things have significantly improved over previous years and of course as we go forward, we would continue to make improvements.”
Senior Meteorologist for NEMA Trevor Basden said earlier in the day that if Chris were downgraded to a tropical depression, Bahamians can expect “lots of rain,” of between one and two inches.
But officials stressed that as various models do not give precise predictions, preparation is key.
“You ought to continue to take necessary action in terms of securing buildings and emergency supplies of water and food. You can expect that as we approach the height of the active portion of the hurricane season ﾖ which goes from mid-August to mid-September ﾖ that means tropical storms will begin coming rather frequently,” Mr. Smith said.
“It is therefore important for the public not to let its guard down. Once again persons ought to put in place a disaster preparedness and response planﾅWe pray that things donﾒt get worse, but we must prepare for the worse nonetheless.”
Officials also cautioned mariners to head to safe harbour and protect themselves and their vessels.
“Itﾒs better to lose a day of fishing rather than to lose a vessel and become a potential search and rescue,” said Lt. Herbert Bain, logistics officer for NEMA.
“ﾅBut any boat that finds itself in a precarious position during any major event, it is our obligation to perform search and rescue missions.”
NEMA has also created a hurricane guide with all the relevant information.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
