Government has started the ball rolling with the clearing of drains and waterways and the construction of retention and detention ponds as part of its preparations for the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Now, Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, is urging members of the public to follow suit and take control of their own personal preparations.
He made this call, as he addressed a press conference to mark the start of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season at the Department of Emergency Management (DEM), yesterday.
“There is a major move afoot to get Barbados prepared for this hurricane season. The probability of a system impacting us has increased over the years, to the point now where more storms are coming within impact range of Barbados than ever before. And they’re coming earlier.
“The Government took a position in consultation with all of our stakeholders…that although the hurricane season officially began on the first of June, our preparedness effort was aimed at meeting a deadline of the first of May,” he said.
That meant that hurricane preparedness meetings, updates, reports, putting things in place and planning was done to meet a May 1 deadline, putting Government in a better state of preparedness for the yesterday’s start of the hurricane season.
But, the Minister warned that persons should not be lulled into a false sense of security by this fact, but follow the example set and start their own preparedness efforts.
Noting that the tips shared annually did not change, Mr. Abrahams urged residents to store adequate amounts of water per person per day in their homes, trim the trees and clear their drains. He added that they should also ensure that their cell phones and other electronic devices were charged.
He also called on residents to stock up on canned foods and reduce the amount of meat and other perishable items which they store in their refrigerators, in the event that the electricity is impacted for a significant length of time.
“Let us learn from last year in Barbados. A lot of you know what you lost when your current went down for a week. Let us not make that mistake again. Be responsible in what you buy, what you stock up on, and put yourself in a position that what happened to you last year does not have to happen to you again this year,” he pleaded