CDEMA head urges persons to trust the experts
EXECUTIVE Director of the Caribbean Disaster Management Agency (CDEMA) Ronald Jackson is calling on persons not to query the decisions taken by officials to implement a nationwide shutdown during an extreme weather event.
His comments came during a press conference yesterday afternoon with officials from the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH|) where he stressed that conditions can change in an instant.
According to Jackson, when there is a lull in terms of what would have been the expected time of impact, some persons take the view that there was a mistake made. His comments came yesterday against the backdrop of a period of calm on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning and decision taken to shut the country down until the All Clear was given by the Department of Emergency Management. While persons felt the officials might have misjudged the system, within a few hours the period of no activity turned out to be calm before the proverbial storm, and by mid-morning, these conditions were replaced by heavy rains and gusty winds across Barbados.
“ What we are seeing here is something that we need to understand, that meteorology can never be a precise science, because we are dealing with nature, what our meteorologist do is work with the best information they have to give the population enough time in a safe situation whether than to face the onslaught with less time.”
“Things are dynamic and so it may change in terms of the speed. So an expected impact time for midnight may end up being 3pm or 4pm or 8pm, because it is dynamic. But certainly the conditions that are seen is what is being reported.”
“We want to encourage persons to really develop that confidence in the meteorology- and recognise that nature is dynamic and it can change. But what we are seeking to do is ensure people are secure. If we do not that and it continues on its trajectory and we fail to deliver that information then we would be derelict in our duty,”he said.
CIMH principal Dr. David Farrell expressed similar sentiments, noting that rain stopping is not an indication that the situation is safe.
“You have to factor in there may be landslides, potential flooding could evolve, fallen power lines. It is important that people really listen to the relevant authority in the country. So that people can stay safe and we have no significant accidents,” Dr. Farrell said. (JH)