The Montserrat Reporter

ABOVE VIDEO: Meteorologist Mike Lyons of WPBF News has the latest on Hurricane Beryl. (WPBF 25 News Video)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Category 1 Hurricane Beryl continues to roll closer to the Caribbean as the first hurricane watch has been issued for the Dominica Island, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, and St. Barthelemy.

After the latest NHC report, Beryl continues to hold steady at 80 mph max sustained winds and moving to the west at 15 mph.

On the current forecast track, the center of Hurricane Beryl will approach the Lesser Antilles over the weekend and cross the island chain late Sunday or Monday.

“Additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Beryl is expected to still be a hurricane when it reaches the Lesser Antilles late Sunday or Monday,” said the National Hurricane Center.

“Weakening is expected once Beryl reaches the eastern Caribbean Sea on Monday, but the system may not degenerate into an open trough until it reaches the vicinity of Hispaniola and the central Caribbean Sea.”

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 10 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles.

National Hurricane Center says islands west of Lesser Antilles should continue monitor the progress of Beryl, as more hurricane watches could be issued in the coming days.

ABOVE VIDEO: Longtime Central Florida Meteorologist and Space Coast Daily correspondent Danny Treanor offers some advice on how to prepare for the upcoming 2018 hurricane season.

Under caption “Montserrat: still here, still home, still nice”, on June 15, 2018 we published that the Organisation of East Caribbean States (OECS) revealed that this year, the much-anticipated OECS Council of Ministers of Environment Sustainability (COMES 5) will be held in this lovely island of Montserrat.

The 5th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Environmental Sustainability (COMES) of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) will take place in Montserrat from Tuesday, July 10 to 11, under the theme “Building Resilience on the Frontlines of Climate Change”.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Trade, Lands, Housing and the Environment (MATLHE) is preparing to welcome more than 40 delegates to the island, for the Meeting, which will be chaired by the Honourable Minister David Osborne who will address the opening ceremony, along with other speakers who will deliver remarks pertaining to environment and climate change issues on Montserrat and the region.

Minister Osborne noted that this year’s theme is important given the devastation experienced in the region last year. He said following last year’s catastrophic hurricane season, there is heightened awareness and drive in the region for all of us to become more resilient to these natural hazards which are influenced greatly by climate change.

The Minister further noted that this year’s theme “Accelerating Sustainable Development: Addressing Challenges and Creating Opportunities.” is important given the devastation experienced in the region last year. He said following last year’s catastrophic hurricane season, there is heightened awareness and drive in the region for all of us to become more resilient to these natural hazards which are influenced greatly by climate change. Minister Osborne further noted that the COMES5 Meeting provides an avenue for environment ministers in the region to take a unified position on matters affecting our environment.

The OECS in announcing the meeting in June said, “The COMES 5 comes at a critical juncture, given the severe economic and social impacts of the hurricanes of 2017 and  will provide the forum for ministers to engage with senior technocrats and development partners and to make decisions that will advance the climate and overall environmental resilience of the region.”

As part of the meeting, the delegates will deliberate on several matters to include strengthening disaster preparedness and response coordination; The Blue and Green Economies; and Energy resilience among others.

Delegates were to begin arriving on island over this weekend and will include OECS Environment Ministers, technical officers and regional partners. It is not certain how this will evolve as due to the threat of hurricane Beryl ferry operations and flights had been suspended but are expected to resume on Monday afternoon.

A Release following an urgent NDPRAC meeting, the third since the beginning of the hurricane season the group chaired by H E Governor Andrew Pearce is “urging residents to remain vigilant to tropical storm Beryl, as the path a storm or hurricane can change at any moment.”The National Disaster Preparedness Response Advisory Committee (NDPRAC) met at 1.00 p.m. on Saturday July 7, 2018 at the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) to discuss the impending storm.“Disaster Management Officials provided an update on the path of Tropical Storm Beryl.“The message now is for residents to remain vigilant and to continue to monitor the path of the system, which was downgraded to a tropical storm on Saturday. Hence, there’s no need for alarm at this present time, however, persons should not be complacent as tropical storms and hurricanes are fluid by nature and can change at a moment’s notice.”The release further advised that the core NDPRAC will meet on Sunday July 8 at 12 noon following the 11 o’clock weather advisory.

Governor Pearce press brief after NDPRAC meeting

On Monday this week, under a theme: “Plan and Take Action… Always Prepare for the Unexpected”, a tabletop exercise was held here on Monday, July 2, 2018 at the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) to test Montserrat’s readiness to respond to a tropical storm or hurricane impacting the island.

The exercise, held as part of the DMCA’s 2018 National Hurricane Conference, of which the ‘media’ was not a part, (not invited to participate, uninformed) brought together key personnel from the public sector, statutory organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to assess their individual plans to respond to a tropical cyclone event.

The exercise led participants through a simulated hurricane scenario and prompted them to examine their plan of action and procedures at various phases of the event and how it ties into the Montserrat National Hurricane Plan.

The goals of the exercise were to critically assess the response capability and coordination of the various organizations and agencies involved using their internal plans and resources; and to help them identify improvements that could make the difference in saving lives and to ensure business continuity at the private, public and national levels.”

In very short notice, perhaps responding to some media concerns on ignorant exclusions, His Excellency Andrew Pearce met immediately with the press, after today’s meeting with the National Disaster Preparedness Response Advisory Committee (NDPRAC), which is comprised of key senior government officials, including the governor, premier, MVO and the police, where he was quizzed on the activities of the earlier meetings.

He briefed:

While shelters most likely won’t be needed for the passing of Tropical Storm Beryl, based on its current trajectory, they are ready to be put to use.However, Montserrat still has several major issues which need to be rectified.

The governor who is witnessing his first hurricane season in Montserrat, reported that the DMCA has been working since the last hurricane season to prepare the designated 12 hurricane shelters and they are in working order and can manage about 300 people collectively.

List of hurricane shelters…

Montserrat is not where it needs to be in terms of its preparedness at this point in the hurricane season. He said working with the relevant departments, they are tackling five key areas.

The first being, non-electrical supplies and equipment for the shelters, including cots, First Aid kits and water pumps. Totaling about US$300,000, these supplies are to be managed by the DMCA once they arrive on island.

Second, electrical supplies including generators are also to be procured. However, there has been a delay in the process as they were working to establish the various power supplies and correct voltage needed for the locations.

Governor Pearce said communications can be a nightmare in emergency situations and Montserrat currently does not have enough emergency radios, and base stations are not where they need to be. The UK Government under the Hurricane Preparedness Plan for the Caribbean Overseas Territories is providing technical support to assess the island’s communications needs.

The fourth priority area is the national radio station infrastructure. The governor said EC$500,000 has been allocated to purchase a relay for Garibaldi Hill and strengthen the transmission tower on Silver Hills.

The fifth area is the personnel coordination to ensure that teams know what they are to do and everyone has shared their relevant contact information.

He said further, they are aware of the vulnerabilities and are working to address them. However, he was not optimistic that the communication challenges would be fully rectified in the coming weeks but rather saw an end of the hurricane season date as the most probable.

Hurricane expected to make landfall late Sunday

http://www.abc17news.com/weather/hurricane-beryl-may-weaken-but-puerto-rico-and-the-caribbean-are-on-alert/764384856

 

By: DAKIN ANDONE,JASON HANNA AND GISELA CRESPO

• CNN

Posted: Jul 07, 2018

“People are very aware, and they want to be prepared,” Colon said.

Weather watches were in effect at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, along Beryl’s expected path.

A tropical storm warning was in place in Dominica, replacing an earlier hurricane watch, and Guadeloupe. Tropical storm watches were in place in Barbados, St. Lucia, Martinique, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Saba and St. Eustatius, according to the hurricane center.

Earlier, the hurricane center had described the storm as “Tiny Beryl” because of “its very small size.” Tropical storm-force winds by Saturday evening extended as far as 45 miles from the storm’s center.

Storm brewing off the Carolina coast

Meanwhile, another storm, Tropical Depression 3, is crawling over the Atlantic about 150 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

The storm is forecast to strengthen in coming days and could become a tropical storm Saturday night or Sunday, the hurricane center said Saturday morning.

No watches or warnings for that storm have been issued. A forecast model shows the storm wouldn’t approach land until Wednesday, when it could skirt Nova Scotia before impacting Newfoundland on Thursday. Both are in Canada.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and peaks from mid-August to late-October.

The year’s first named storm, Alberto, hit in late May. It made landfall on the Florida Panhandle as a subtropical storm and ushered drenching rains across states in the South and Midwest. At least five people died in incidents related to that storm.

(CNS) The region’s disaster management chief, Ronald Jackson, has highlighted five critical areas of focus as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) seeks to develop “saer, more resilient and sustainable Caribbean communities”.

These include Enhancing Social Protection for the Most Vulnerable; Safeguarding Infrastructure; Economic Diversification; Environmental/Ecosystems Protection and Enhanced Operational Readiness.

Addressing the sixth Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Cartagena, Colombia last week.

the CDEMA executive director also noted that “the region has produced a Caribbean Assessment Report that captures the performance of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy over the period of implementation 2014-2016”.

He also said CDEMA was “quite pleased” with the efforts undertaken within the context of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, UNISDR, to better harmonize reporting within the Caribbean, adding that “we remain committed to reporting on progress in the implementation of the priorities of action”.

This year’s three-day seminar, under the theme “Towards a Less Vulnerable Region with more Resilient Communities”,  allowed participants to share experiences and lessons learned in the 2017 hurricane season, transfer knowledge and show successes related to disaster risk reduction at the regional and national levels.

In addition to Jackson, other CDEMA officials, including Deputy Executive Director Elizabeth Riley and Planning & Business Development Manager Andria Grosvenor, participated in various panel discussions and delivered presentations which emphasized the need for countries, especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean to accelerate efforts at building resilience.

It was announced that Jamaica will be the first Caribbean country to host the Seventh Session of the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2020.

by STAFF WRITER

ROSEAU, Dominica, May 3, CMC –  UNICEF and World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean on Thursday signed an agreement to support governments in the region to be better prepared and equipped to use cash transfer programmes to assist their population during emergencies. 

UNICEF’s Marita Perceval and WFP’s Miguel Barreto signed the agreement here, at the start of a workshop to review the emergency cash-based transfer programme the two agencies supported in the Caribbean country, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. 

In emergencies, transfers – either cash or vouchers – allow affected people to determine and prioritise their own needs and strengthen their autonomy and dignity. Additionally, they stimulate local economies and revitalise markets, thus promoting resilience in affected communities, as seen in Dominica. 

The three-month programme implemented by the Government of Dominica with the support of the two agencies in the aftermath of the Category 5 hurricane Maria, provided emergency cash transfers to 25,000 affected people, including 6,000 children. 

Payments helped families meet their basic needs, including food, clothes, hygiene items, school supplies and reconstruction materials. 

“Emergency cash helped vulnerable Dominicans who had lost so much get back on their feet again. The cash was a lifeline for affected people but it also allowed them to regain priceless strength and hope,”. Barreto said.

“We know these programmes work and can be used effectively by Governments, with our joint UN support, to prepare for and respond to future emergencies,” he added. 

“When we take care of a child in an emergency, we are not only giving immediate protection, we are making sure that she can develop to her full potential,” said Perceval.

“Dominica’s pioneering experience using cash transfers as a response to emergency breaks the barrier between humanitarian and development work, and is a testament to what the collaboration of UNICEF and WFP, under the Dominica’s government leadership, can accomplish for the region.” 

In the document , the two regional agencies  agreed to collaborate in preparing feasibility assessments to determine if a cash-based response is useful in a given country or context, and co-financing cash-based transfer programmes.

Both agencies will develop and/or strengthen key programme tools to implement cash- based transfer programmes in an emergency context; programme implementation and capacity strengthening of government partners; as well as monitoring and evaluation. 

– following Bank’s strong 2017 performance

By Staff Writer February 9, 2018

Dr Warren Smith

President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr Warren Smith,  on Wednesday announced that the institution is making US$700 to 800 million available to help Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) recover from the impact of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

The funding, which the Bank will provide over the next five years, complements its ongoing work to build resilience in the Caribbean Region, according to a media release from CDB.

“Disaster risk management and resilience building took centre-stage again in CDB’s strategic responses to the challenges facing our BMCs,” Smith said in the CDB statement, while outlining the Bank’s 2017 performance during his Annual News Conference.

“To incentivise BMCs to invest in climate-resilient infrastructure, CDB must be able to also offer grants and other attractively priced financial resources.  But the challenges our Region faces are bigger than what CDB can handle on its own.  We have, therefore, been drawing on a combination of our own resources as well as funds intermediated through CDB by other development partners to meet this challenge,” the CDB president was quoted as saying in the bank’s press release.

In 2017, the CDB mobilised concessionary resources from development partners to support more resilient infrastructure projects throughout the Region, according to the CDB media release. Among the resources tapped was the Second Climate Action Line of Credit from the European Investment Bank totalling US$144 million, including US$24 million for emergency post-disaster rehabilitation. Last year, the Bank also announced a new US$70 million fund, through which the Government of Mexico will provide grants to boost regional infrastructure in the Bank’s BMCs.

In 2018, the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund, a 300 million pounds sterling programme launched two years ago, will be expanded to include an additional 28 million pounds sterling to assist in the recovery efforts in Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica, the President announced in the statement.

“The Caribbean has had a long history of bouncing back from natural disasters and other external shocks.  So, in the events of 2017, we see immense opportunity for the BMCs to come back stronger and more resilient,” said Smith in the release, while noting that the Caribbean is the second-most vulnerable region to climate change in the world.

In highlighting the Bank’s improved performance in 2017, Smith said that CDB recorded strong growth in both approvals and disbursements according to the press release. It approved capital loans and technical assistance interventions totalling US$364 million, up 18 percent over 2016. In addition, in 2017, the Bank disbursed US$233 million – an increase of 13 percent, compared with the previous year.  This was achieved against the backdrop of increasing intensity and frequency of natural disasters, and greater vulnerability of its BMCs.

The Bank achieved a rating upgrade to AA+ from Standard & Poor’s, and an AA+ capital market rating from Fitch Ratings in 2017, and now has a unified rating across the three major rating agencies, including Moody’s Investors Service  (Aa1), the media statement said.