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Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate retired by the World Meteorological Organization

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Miami, Florida, Thursday April 12, 2018 – Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate are storm names that don’t bear repeating.

Due to the extensive damage caused in the United States and Caribbean last year, the World Meteorological Organization’s Region IV Hurricane Committee has officially retired these names. Storm names are retired if they were so deadly or destructive that the future use of the name would be insensitive – otherwise names are reused on a six-year cycle.

The committee also selected the replacement names for Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate with Harold, Idalia, Margot, and Nigel respectively that will first appear in the 2023 list of storm names.  

Including these four additions, there have been 86 names retired from the Atlantic basin list since 1953, when storms began to be named. The 2005 hurricane season has the most retired names (five) for one season.

Summary of the newly retired storms

Hurricane Harvey became a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale before making landfall along the middle Texas coast on Aug. 25. The storm then stalled, with its center remaining over or near the Texas coast for four days, dropping historic rainfall amounts, of up to five feet, causing catastrophic flooding in parts of southeastern Texas. Harvey is the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history (after inflation), behind only Katrina in 2005. At least 68 people died from the direct effects of the storm in Texas, the largest number in that state since 1919.

Hurricane Irma was a long-lived hurricane that reached category 5 intensity on Sept. 5. The catastrophic hurricane made seven landfalls, four of which occurred as a category 5 hurricane across the northern Caribbean Islands. Irma made landfall as a category 4 hurricane in the Florida Keys on Sept. 10 and struck southwestern Florida as a category 3 the same day. Irma caused 44 direct deaths as a result of its strong winds, heavy rain and high surf. In the U.S., seven direct deaths were reported, and an additional 85 indirect deaths occurred, 80 of which were in Florida. Hundreds more were injured preparing for the storm, during it or in its aftermath.

Hurricane Maria ravaged the island of Dominica as a category 5 on Sept. 19, and later devastated Puerto Rico as a high-end category 4 hurricane. It also inflicted serious damage on some of the other islands of the northeastern Caribbean Sea. Maria is the third costliest hurricane in U.S. history, behind Harvey and Katrina. Maria caused 31 direct deaths with 34 missing in Dominica, and two direct deaths in Guadeloupe. In Puerto Rico, the death toll stands at 65, which includes an unknown number of indirect deaths.  

Hurricane Nate crossed northeastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras as a tropical storm, then made landfall on the northern Gulf Coast as a category 1 hurricane. It brought rainfall that caused significant impacts in Central America, where media reports indicate that these caused 44 deaths in the region. An additional fatality in Panama was due to a “shipwreck,” bringing the death toll directly associated with Nate to 45. An additional nine people were missing in the region.

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center is a member of the World Meteorological Organization’s Region IV Hurricane Committee, and is responsible for issuing tropical cyclone forecasts and warnings for both the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on FacebookTwitterInstagra m and our other social media channels.

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Caribbean News

CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

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Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

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Caribbean News

Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

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Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

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Caribbean News

Supreme Court Closed for Easter

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NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

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