Hanover takes high marks for Beryl preparedness

Western Bureau:

Romeo Daley, acting chief executive officer of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), says the Hanover Disaster Preparedness Committee, which operated 55 shelters during the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl, came away from the experience with high marks.

“Based on report, all 55 shelters were opened over a two-day period, with the least number of occupants in any one shelter being two persons,” Daley told The Gleaner. “The total amount of persons occupying shelters was 307, between the Wednesday, July 3rd, when the hurricane was passing and the following day, Thursday, July 4th, but by Thursday afternoon many persons left the shelters to return home or to stay with relatives.”

According to Daley, by Thursday afternoon (July 4) all 55 shelters across the parish were deactivated and closed. He commended residents across the parish for the positive way in which they responded to the notices and warnings that were being publicised about the hurricane.

“It seems like most persons took the opportunity to avoid any danger to themselves, because based on the reports we got, people started occupying the shelters from Wednesday during the daytime,” he stated.

Daley further noted that, in the past, Jamaicans would disregard storm and hurricane warnings, but in this instance with Hurricane Beryl, it was not so, as persons took a lot of precautionary action.

In giving a breakdown of the occupancy numbers at the Hanover shelters, Daley said they housed 160 females, 100 males and 47 children. He said the total number of 307 occupants included the 42 residents at the Hanover Infirmary, who were relocated to a nearby shelter as a safety precaution.

“All centre managers were equipped with the necessary supplies, as we started our preparation for the arrival of the weather system from a while back, with re-checks done days before the event, to make sure they all had adequate supplies,” Daley said.

Quizzed as to whether the disaster committee would do anything differently in case there is another weather system during the current hurricane season, said it would be dependent on the nature of the system.

“Each situation comes with different challenges. The one we have just passed through, Hurricane Beryl, would have been a learning experience, and we definitely have been doing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis since, so we would have taken the lessons learned and in whatever areas we need to improve, as there is always room for improvements, we will do so,” said Daley.

Regarding road access across the parish, Daley said that, whereas some roads were blocked up to days after the passing of the hurricane, as of Thursday, July 25, there were no impassable road in the parish, albeit, some have been reduced to single lane access, a situation that should be addressed shortly.

Going forward, Daley is urging the residents of Hanover to continue to listen to and adhere to advisories and bulletins that are sent out by the relevant agencies, as their adherence could make a difference between life and death.

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