‘Be prepared for the worst’

BARBADOS needs to be prepared for the worst when it comes to tropical storms and hurricanes.

 

That’s the view of Clive Lorde, former Director of Emergency Services, while speaking at a Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) discussion 

recently at the Hilton.

 

The subject of the discussion was the National shutdown towards the end of last month as preparations were put in place for the weather system, which eventually became Hurricane Matthew.

 

Lorde told the function that one of the challenges in Barbados is that the country does not have a lot of recent experience when it comes to hurricanes.

 

He said, “We had Tomas, we had Matthew and in 2004 we had Ivan which brushed us, and in 2002, Lily. The history of Barbados is that we have been clobbered by tropical systems in the past. It is just that in our current lifetime we have not had that experience, and we have to be prepared for the worst.” 

 

Mr. Lorde cautioned that if Barbadians are not prepared for the worst, it is going to be impossible to scale up.

 

The former Director said it has to be recognised that tropical systems, in terms of storms and hurricanes, are different from floods and from even earthquakes, the latter does not offer warning signals.

 

He said that the country had been informed about the system for more than a week and had been given adequate time to prepare.

 

In addition, Lorde stated that between the directive for the shutdown and the stated impact of the system was about nine hours, which according to him was adequate time.

 

Lorde remarked that there were logical reasons for the national shutdown as the weather system approached the country.

 

The all clear is provided to the public once the meteorological services have determined there is no longer a threat to the public and that has to be respected.

 

He told the BCCI function that shutdown procedures are done to ensure safety of lives,  ensure protection of property, and that businessmen can resume operations with a secured plant and with many assets as possible.

 

Any effort to draw customers out during the shutdown is putting them at risk, according to him.

 

He said that in the USA, when evacuation orders are issued, there is the mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders. The latter, he explained, suggests that one does not have to move, but a strong recommendation that it may result in the State reducing its obligations to an individual who runs into challenges.

 

According to him, “We have to go through a process of shutting down as early as possible.” (JB)