With the upcoming hurricane season predicted to be an “extremely” active one, the public is being urged to be prepared.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, made this call following a tour of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) hurricane hunter WC-130J aircraft, on Thursday at the Grantley Adams International Airport.
Mr. Abrahams, along with officials from the National Emergency Management System and the US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Roger Nyhus, toured the aircraft as part of the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) and NOAA’s 2024 Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour with the US Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, utilising one of its WC-130J aircraft.
The Minister recalled that on April 4 this year, the Colorado State University’s Extended Range Forecast indicated that there would be an “extremely” active hurricane season for 2024 – approximately 23 named storms, of which 11 will become hurricanes. Five of those hurricanes are expected to become Category 3 or above.
With that in mind, he advised the public to begin preparing for the hurricane season and not to wait until there is a warning of an approaching system.
“As with all hurricane seasons, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season. Thorough preparation should be made every season regardless of predicted activity…. Being weather-ready really means being aware of what the weather could be, what is coming and preparing for its impact with an effective and safe response. Please, be prepared!” Minister Abrahams urged.
He thanked the NHC and NOAA officials for the work they do in helping Barbados to provide early warning systems to the public.
“We are doing our part here, but we cannot do it without our partners. And for that, I will say we appreciate your resources and the deployment of your resources to protect the Caribbean more than you can imagine, because it only takes one system to wipe out everything that we know and we hold dear,” Mr. Abrahams stated.
US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Roger Nyhus, also expressed thanks to the staff, who he referred to as “heroes” working on the Hurricane Hunter aircraft. He said his country is ready to help ensure the safety of Caribbean people.
“This aircraft, the technology, all of the tools that the United States Government has, we are putting to bear to help ensure the safety of the people of Barbados and the eastern Caribbean,” Ambassador Nyhus stated.
Director of the NHC, Dr. Michael Brennan, also called on Barbadians to be prepared. He noted that Barbados is the most easterly located Caribbean island and is likely to see some of the earliest impacts of storms coming across the Tropical Atlantic.
“The message right now is preparedness, be ready for the upcoming hurricane season. It only takes one storm affecting your area, regardless of what any kind of seasonal forecast might say, for how busy or not busy the Atlantic Hurricane Season overall will be. And here in the Caribbean, you have to be ready the entire hurricane season all the way from June 1 through the end of November because we can and do have storms affecting the region all season. So, people need to be prepared,” Dr. Brennan stressed.