News
Turks & Caicos Disaster Management Team gives thorough Report on Hurricane Season Day 1
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, June 6, 2022 – The chance of the Turks and Caicos being impacted by a major storm has climbed significantly this year according to Doctor Holly Hamilton Director of Meteorology at the Turks and Caicos Islands Airport Authority.
Hamilton was speaking at the DDMEs 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season Joint Press Conference, held Wednesday May 1st.
The event was attended by Minister of Immigration Arlington Musgrove, Mike Clerveaux Acting Director of the DDME , Eugene Williams Department of Planning Control Engineer and Roger Harvey, Assistant Maintenance Manager of the Public Works Department.
METEOROLOGICAL OUTLOOK
Hamilton explained the chance of impact for the Turks and Caicos as predicted by Colorado State University.
“For the named storms they’re forecasting a 59 percent chance we might be impacted by one this season,” she said, and that is up from 40 percent.
“For Hurricanes a 32 percent chance of us being impacted vs the 20 percent average and [there is] an 18 percent
The year 2022 is the first in seven years a named storm has not developed before the June 1st start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season but the predictions prove that that doesn’t mean the season will be slow. Hamilton also explained that storms were more severe now.
“Globally it is about 25 percent more likely that a tropical cyclone will be at major intensity and in the Atlantic that proportion has more than doubled.”
Not only are more storms becoming hurricanes, they are also becoming stronger faster. What this means, Hamilton said, is hurricanes upgrade themselves (from category one to higher) more quickly, sometimes overnight. This makes it very hard to make accurate predictions.
As a reminder 14-21 named storms 6-10 hurricanes and 3-6 major hurricanes are predicted for this season.
This she said made it extremely important for the TCI Islanders to download the DDME Alert app and PAY ATTENTION to all alerts from the DDME on the app or otherwise.
She noted that the TCI was very keen on creating its own meteorological centre in country.
Minister Arlington Musgrove seconded this stressing that it would be very beneficial for the islands.
Minister With Responsibility for Disaster Preparedness
Minister Musgrove while expressing his hope for a quiet season with no hurricanes encouraged readiness for the season saying, “I urge you to be proactive by downloading the DDME Mobile app, creating an emergency plan for your families, replenishing your stock of emergency supplies and taking the necessary steps to protect property and possession.”
He stressed that ‘preparation rests not just with the government but with all of us.’
Noting that no area on the islands was immune to disaster he said Islanders should ‘be wise and build our resilience capacity through preparedness…we are resilient people and resilient people proactively plan and prepare.”
Department of Planning
‘Plan ahead’ was the overarching theme of the press conference and the Planning Department’s Eugene Williams explained some ways TCI Islanders needed to prepare.
Persons who feel that neighboring properties have a hazard on site which could affect their own property should report that to the Department of Planning.
Public Works Department
TCI Islanders will not have to worry about drains at least, as Roger Harvey, Assistant Maintenance Manager of the Public works Department, assured that they were in excellent condition.
“All drainage in the Turks and Caicos Islands, we actually maintain them on a regular basis. We have improved the quality and the flow of water quite a bit and we have new wells drilled in the low-lying areas to receive the water as quickly as possible.”
Harvey also mentioned that the government had secured new heavy duty vehicles to help with cleanup and the flooding which frustrates access to the Providenciales International Airport has also been addressed.
The Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies
Acting Director of the DDME, Mike Clerveaux said 23 shelters had been prepared for the season but not all would be open at the same time and shelter management training was almost complete with 63 shelter personnel ready to be deployed.
A meeting was held with the TCI Regiment, Police, telecommunications stakeholders and the National Security Secretariat on May 31st, Clerveaux revealed, and it supported finalizing plans for the season.
While the DDME did not have a concrete number on how many people had downloaded the new DDME free mobile App, Clerveaux said there would be intensified ad campaigns promoting the safety and sense of having this new tool.
Training for key individuals in command centres and simulation exercises with key places including the airport have also been completed.
Damage assessment training and radio communication training are underway and coming up are simulations between the Governor’s office and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.