Lessons from Melissa: Prepare for natural disasters

People line up for fuel at a gas station in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on October 31, in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. - AP PHOTO

JERRY DAVID, senior disaster management co-ordinator at the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, says simple things can be done to improve Trinidad and Tobago’s chances if a hurricane were to hit the country.

He said in Trinidad and Tobago, the main problem was flooding because of the topography of the country, particularly the Caroni plains, south and north Oropouche river basins. He said the flood plains were expected to flood but settlements were built there, which was the problem.

“We have been saying there are no natural disasters. There are natural hazards. How we relate to the hazards determines if it becomes a disaster. If a tree falls in the forest, it isn’t a disaster because nobody lives there. If it falls in an urban community, falls on a home and kills the people inside, that is a disaster.”

In addition, people were building huge settlements on the hillsides. He said winds would slam into those homes, and the water the trees and brush which would have absorbed and slowed down would now run down the hills at a speed and cause more flooding.

David recalled when over a dozen homes in Westmoorings North and Victoria Gardens suffered roof damage caused by a weak tornado on October 7. He said that happened over the course of a few minutes, so one could only imagine the damage the sustained winds of a hurricane could cause.

Therefore roofs need to be of better materials and construction.

He pointed out there were no designated shelters in Trinidad and Tobago. Rather, buildings such as community shelters, schools and churches were designated as shelters during emergencies. That being the case, he said improvements would be made to those buildings.

“If a hurricane is this strong, we would have to put people in more shelters. And Trinidadians don’t like to go in shelters. But we will have to have enough shelters to put people in, and shelters whose roles are secured.

“I have been trying for years to get hurricane shutters put on community centres as they give greater protection. I have also asked Udecott, through Joint Select Committees of Parliament, to adjust the roofs they put on community centres. Don’t have eaves protruding three and four feet. That will cause the roof to lift off. If you go to any island that has been affected by hurricanes, the eaves in the roofs are no more than ten inches.”

David also asked citizens to properly prune trees around their homes. He said trees were wind-breakers but, if they were not properly pruned, high winds could topple or break the trees, which could fall on the home or pull down power lines.

He believes Hurricane Melissa would be studied for decades, and he personally paid careful attention to the response in Jamaica, including that of the police, government officials and meteorological office, in the hopes to improve and implement plans in the future.

Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28 as a Category 5 storm and later struck Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane on the night of October 29. Although it did not make landfall in Haiti, the outer bands of the storm caused heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides.

David lamented that the collection drive for Jamaica at all the municipal corporations on November 1 was not going as well as he hoped. He suspected the news of the orders to Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force officers to report for duty immediately on October 31 as well as the resulting fear and panic buying, dampened people’s generosity.

Jamaican officials report at least 19 people were killed from the hurricane so far, more than 72 per cent of the island without power, many mobile phone sites were down and thousands were displaced or in shelters.

International and multi-national agencies mobilised relief including water, medicine, food and basic supplies.

The Trinidad and Tobago government was mobilising manpower, technical resources, emergency supplies and foodstuffs to Jamaica, and the private sector was setting up a relief fund and collection drives. The US military, via US Southern Command, was assisting TT in shipping relief and heavy-equipment to Jamaica.

The Jamaica Red Cross mobilised 400 volunteers distributing blankets, hygiene kits, shelter tool-kits and tarpaulins while the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) pre-positioned relief supplies, such as cleaning kits, kitchen sets and jerrycans, from its hub in Panama for Jamaica.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs launched a sea-lift operation to deliver aid. And the UN Children’s Fund allocated US$1 million to support the emergency response for children and families.

Haiti suffered at least 30 deaths, including children, and 20 people were missing. Thousands remain displaced with reports of over 11,600 people in shelters.

In Cuba, no fatalities were officially reported after Hurricane Melissa despite the significant damage to infrastructure, roof losses and flooding. However, Cuban authorities evacuated about 735,000 people in its eastern provinces ahead of the storm.

Realising the extent of the hurricane, various UN agencies pre-positioned supplies and logistics support for all three countries, including more than 800 metric tons of food to assist 86,000 people in Haiti for two weeks; water, sanitation and hygiene kits for 14,500 people; reproductive health kits for 5,000 people and medical kits for 11,000 people.