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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is taking the lead in preparing for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which is expected to be above average with 19 named storms, nine expected to develop into hurricanes and four expected to develop into major hurricanes. These preparations include completing a comprehensive disaster management audit conducted by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). The audit aims to review the country’s preparedness in terms of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and disaster financial arrangements. CDEMA is also supporting NEMA through its warehouse inventory management and logistics program, which will enable the agency to “more effectively handle the large volume of requested and unsolicited relief items.” The agency has also reached agreements in principle with food distributors to provide food at short notice; with water distributors to provide water at short notice; with shipping companies to provide services when necessary; and with airlines to provide services when necessary to support the national emergency mechanism. NEMA, the Meteorological Department and the Bahamas National Geographic Information System (BNGIS) have been working with partners in the United States and the United Kingdom on the Weather Ready National (WRN) program, which will better enable reputable agencies to provide impact-based forecasts and storm surge modeling – a capability hailed as “tremendous” by disaster managers. State Disaster Management Agency director Stephen Russell said that for the past two months the Family Island district – “led by the executive and assisted by council members, heads of government departments and knowledgeable locals” – had been meeting to review the local integrated disaster management plan. Captain Russell added: “Our aim is to complete this activity this week so that the plan can be approved for implementation soon.” Additionally, the agency continues to work on strengthening partnerships with the Urban Renewal Commission, the National Community Crime Watch, and the Bahamas National Council for People with Disabilities. Through these partnerships, the National Emergency Management Agency continues to implement Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, a program designed to educate community volunteers on how to prepare for disasters that may affect their area and train them in basic disaster response skills. Over the past three months, the agency has been working with partners at U.S. Northern Command and the Pacific Disaster Center to plan and execute our annual tabletop exercise, titled “Restoring Island Reefs.” This past week, we conducted an exercise with the Family Island Disaster Advisory Committee to test their various systems. A national simulation exercise is scheduled for June. The agency, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General’s Office and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, held a series of meetings with U.S. and British government officials to finalize a status of forces agreement to respond to disasters requiring outside military assistance. NEMA’s Disaster Management Committee and Emergency Support Functional Group have also commenced a series of planning sessions to ensure that all groups are able to carry out their functions in an efficient and economical manner before, during and after an emergency or disaster. At a press conference held at the NEMA headquarters on Gladstone Road to launch National Disaster Preparedness Month (May will be designated as National Disaster Preparedness Month with the theme “Strengthening Community Preparedness for a Better Tomorrow”), Captain Russell said that over the past week, NEMA, the Ministry of Finance and the Meteorological Bureau held meetings with officials from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) to review the current insurance policy and explore the best options before renewing the policy. Captain Russell continued, “The Shelter Emergency Support Functional Group has been leading the effort to inspect all of the shelters in the Bahamas to determine which facilities are available for use this season. This past year, as many of you may know, through our U.S. military partners, NEMA was able to acquire a mobile shelter system that can accommodate approximately 400 people. The system also includes showers and toilets as well as a field kitchen.” The NEMA director said the agency’s preparations had begun long before 2022. “In the past year, additional flood rescue equipment has been delivered to 11 islands where rescue teams have been trained in the past. In the past year, 16 communities have installed VHF radio and repeater systems to support emergency communications in local communities. “The National Emergency Management Agency and our partners have reviewed the coroner’s report during the investigation following Hurricane Dorian and are developing plans to more effectively and efficiently care for the deceased following a disaster, hopefully something like this will not happen,” said Captain Russell.
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