Some Bajans too complacent

 

I wonder what Bajans who were critical of the national shutdown issued for Barbados last week now have to say, when they hear of or witness the devastation in other countries, caused by Tropical Storm Matthew, which has now become, hard-hitting Hurricane Matthew.

 

We received just a tail-lashing from Tropical Storm Matthew. As a tropical storm, Matthew was blamed for one death in St. Vincent. Matthew then set his sights on Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba as he gathered all his strength to eventually become a hurricane. Reports indicated that all of Haiti and Jamaica were under hurricane warnings as of Monday night, along with the southeast and central Bahamas and select Cuban provinces. In Jamaica, residents were battening down their homes and stocking up on supplies and trying their best to prepare for the worst. In Cuba, Matthew was expected to arrive on Tuesday 

and the government, opting not to take a wait-and-see approach, evacuated approximately 665 000 people from Santiago de Cuba and other eastern cities, moving them inland to safety.

 

Great focus has been placed on Haiti, as reports are that the death toll from Hurricane Matthew’s strike there, now surpasses 100, with thousands more affected. Reports suggest that the hurricane, now dubbed the most powerful Atlantic tropical storm in almost a decade, also pounded the Bahamas. At the time of penning this article, Matthew had been upgraded to a Category 4 Hurricane and was aiming for a direct hit, as either a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, on Florida, as of last night, prompting evacuation orders for more than two million people, from Florida to South Carolina.

 

I really don’t know how much more convincing Barbadians need to get it through their heads, that we cannot play with Mother Nature. We can only give thanks that our geographical location lends to a situation which sees us being spared major damage from storms and hurricanes, time after time. However, one day, as it did back in 1955 with Hurricane Janet, our luck will run out.

 

We as a people have become too complacent and we also complain about every single thing under the sun, that does not deserve a second word. We complain about the loss of revenue due to a national shutdown.

 

We complain that met officials don’t know what they are talking about. Some of us even go as far as to suggest that we can open our shops as we so please, because we are assisting members of the community. Truth be told, we really don’t take into account that what we should be doing is uttering a prayer for others who are not as fortunate as we are, whilst taking steps to see how we can re-evaluate our situation and better prepare for the next eventuality. I really hope we are taking notes and the level of complacency seen in the past with regards to disaster preparedness, is somehow replaced with a greater sense of willingness to better prepare for whatever may face us down the line.