“Are You Prepared For the Unexpected?” As we approach another Hurricane Season in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), the DDME takes advantage of this opportunity to once more urge everyone to put in place necessary preparations to reduce the impact of hurricanes. Review the location of your nearest shelter and determine the safest route to reach that shelter. Write a hurricane emergency plan and discuss this plan with your family and employees. Work out a strategy with your family on how you will keep in touch in the event of separation during a hurricane emergency. Engage your family in the preparation of an emergency kit. Make sure that your children are a part of this exercise as it will provide an opportunity for them to learn useful lessons in emergency preparedness. If you are uncertain of the contents of the kit, please visit the DDME website at www.gov.tc/ddme. The Hurricane Season extends from June 1 to November 30 and over that period and particularly when the TCI is threatened, the DDME will issue bulletins to apprise our nation of potential dangers and response measures. Treat these bulletins with utmost seriousness because they are intended to provide you with information on which you can make decisions regarding the safety of lives and livelihoods.
In its ongoing efforts to enhance the resiliency capacity of our nation, the DDME maintains a constant state of preparedness for all hazards, but at this time the state of our preparedness for hurricanes goes into high gear. Expert predications for this year’s Hurricane Season are currently mixed but as we draw closer to the start of the Hurricane Season greater alignment of predictions is anticipated. The current debate is that an anticipated active El Nino will reduce the available thermal energy for hurricane formation, thereby reducing the frequency and intensity of storms. Let us remember though, that it takes a single hurricane to wreak havoc on our social, economic and environmental landscape, so irrespective of these predictions, let us do our utmost as a nation and as individuals, to be prepared. Let us strive not to be complacent and let our reflections on past events such as Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike in 2008 and other events in neighboring nations such as the Bahamas and Haiti, inform our call to action for this Hurricane Season
The Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG) has continued commitment in fulfilling the obligations of the Disaster Management Ordinance 2015. In addition to monthly National Sub-Committee meetings, chaired by His Excellency the Governor, Dr. John Freeman along with the Deputy Governor, Honourable Anya Williams and Minister with responsibility for Disaster Management Honourable Vaden Delroy Williams, to monitor levels of preparedness of all key stakeholders, critical initiatives such as exercises and training programmes have been conducted over the past four months. In fact, there has been a recent partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency to embark on a Safer Schools Building Programme, not only to inform the continuity of the business of education in the aftermath of hazard impacts, but also to facilitate the safety of evacuees in cases when our schools are used as shelters.. Initiatives of such nature will promote a culture of readiness island-wide. As natural resources such as, mangroves, strengthen our resistance to natural hazards, the Government’s drive to prepare a National Physical Development Plan that is hazard-sensitive is also significant. This Development Plan will ultimately aim at reducing vulnerability through appropriate land use practices and by extension, promotes sustainable development across the nation. As the challenges of climate change become more indelible on our development thinking the national Physical Development Plan will endeavor to preempt adverse effects in the interest of the sustainability of our developments.
Consistent with the ‘bottom up’ approach, led by the TCIG, the DDME has designated May 2017 as ‘Hurricane Preparedness Month.’ Subsequent to the launch of this initiative on May 1, 2017 in North Caicos, a series of engaging events and activities have been planned involving individuals and specific target groups within local communities. It is the aim of the DDME to successfully host an Art & Poetry Competition, Inter High-School Debate and a Family Plan Preparation Training Seminar, in collaboration with the Education and Community Development Sectors.
The DDME wishes to reemphasize some basic safety tips. If you are living in areas which are vulnerable to coastal or other types of flooding, strong winds or other kinds of hurricane impacts endeavor to be better prepared by predetermining your evacuation route, testing your emergency plans and keeping informed. Rest assured the DDME will continue to execute its mandate and communicate pertinent and accurate information throughout the season on all media platforms, including social media. Let us remember that lives and property are saved through awareness and preparedness.
