EDITORIAL: Not too late to get prepared
WE are almost at the end of August, which means we are almost halfway through the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, and given that it is often said that the latter half is usually more active, it is imperative that we are ever vigilant and prepared should a major weather system come our way.
Some of us may have forgotten that the hurricane season is already upon us, given that we have not had any extreme weather. But our brush with Tropical Storm Harvey last week should certainly have reminded us that while we are usually spared, we still fall within the hurricane belt, and so damage and destruction can occur.
The initial predictions were that it would be a slightly below-average hurricane season, with around 11 named storms. But, one could argue that with the first named storm, Arlene, forming as early as April, there was nothing that would be close to average this hurricane season. It is no surprise therefore that within the last few weeks, agency after agency has revised the forecast update. Just this week The Weather Company predicted above-average activity and further predicted that there would be 17 named storms, and just a few weeks ago the Colorado State University predicted there would be 16 named storms, eight hurricanes, with at least three becoming category three or higher.
Now a season can produce many storms, but have little or no impact because they fail to make landfall, or do not pack much fury. That we hope is what will transpire as the rest of the season unfolds, but in the meantime, we think it is imperative that persons ensure that they are prepared in the event news breaks that a storm is approaching and we have to shut the country down as fast as we did last Thursday. Last Thursday, for most of the day the country was under storm warning, but the system was being referred to as a potential tropical cyclone number 9, and because it bore no name some persons probably did not take it seriously. By early evening it was Tropical Storm Harvey and we were being told to batten down the hatches with haste.
We should use that experience as a wake-up call, to remind us to take the weather reports more seriously and to make concerted efforts to be adequately prepared to ride out the season. Still too often, it is only when we hear that some storm is approaching that we rush to the supermarkets to stock up on water and dry and canned goods; and to fill up our vehicles with fuel. Sometimes the thought might come to some of us to clear the gutters and drains, but for most of us the idea never even crosses our minds. It is certainly unfortunate that this laid-back attitude remains the order of the day.
From the month of May all of us should be in preparatory mode, trimming overhanging branches, carrying out maintenance checks on roofs and determining how we will protect our windows and doors from flying debris, in the event that a hurricane or storm makes landfall. While there is nothing wrong with having faith that we will be spared, there are two sayings that come to mind – God helps those who help themselves and Prevention is better than cure.
We cannot afford for a weather system to catch us off guard, like Tropical Storm Tomas did in 2010 and Harvey did last week. So let us ensure that we are all prepared for the remainder of the 2017 season.