by staff writer

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The European Union has launched a Euro 28 million (One Euro=US$1.29 cents) Regional Climate Resilience Building Facility that will provide financial resources for technical assistance, disaster insurance and resilient investment facilitation.

The facility is the largest grant-funded resilience building project in the Caribbean to date and will be implemented by the World Bank and the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF).

“What we want from this programme is to address real needs. For this, governments and partner entities will have to define clear priorities, without which a targeted implementation is not possible,” said EU Ambassador, Daniela Tramacere, at the weeklong Understanding Risk (UR) Caribbean Conference that is organized by the World Bank in partnership with the Barbados government, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the EU.

The EU diplomat said the action should have as its ultimate objective, the genuine interest of Caribbean citizens translated in terms of resilience building at community and individual levels.

The technical assistance aims to strengthen the capacity of public institutions and civil society organisations which are capable of protecting citizens from disasters. The support to the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility will help countries cope and recover better from the effects of extreme weather events.

“The support to resilient investment will stimulate the private sector to better adapt businesses and jobs to the priority needs of countries and citizens,” she added.

The Regional Resilience Building Facility is one of the many resilience programmes being financed by the EU in the Caribbean. Additional support for countries to build societal resilience by encouraging the transition to green economies and progress towards a sustainable economic path is being provided by various other EU programmes.

The EU said it is also partnering with regional governments and institutions on climate adaptation and ecosystem resilience and on hydrological meteorological data gathering.

Earlier this week, Canada also announced the  launch a CAD$20 million (One Canada dollar=US$0.74 cents) Canada-Caribbean Resilience Facility initiative to help regional countries better prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

“This initiative is being undertaken with Canada’s Caribbean support as a direct response to the lessons learned following the devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean in 2017 that have impacted our neighbouring countries so severely,” says Marie Legault, High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados and the OECS.

by staff writer

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jun 1, CMC – The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially got started on Saturday with the Barbados-based  Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) urging the population in the region to be fully prepared for any eventuality over the next six months.

The US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting there will be nine to 15 named storms during the hurricane season that ends on November 30.

Forecasters are also predicting four to eight of  the storms will become hurricanes and two to four would become major hurricanes with 111 miles per hour (mph) winds or higher.

But CDEMA executive director, Ronald Jackson, said that regardless of how many storms are predicted, the Caribbean should be fully prepared for any eventuality.

“We do not get fixated on whether it is above below, or average…we focus more on ensuring that we go through the season prepared. There is nothing called over preparing as you would have seen in 2017 when we had three Category 5 hurricanes,” he told reporters.

In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria lashed several Caribbean countries as they made their way through the Lesser Antilles leaving behind a trail of death and destruction estimated at billions of US dollars.

Jackson reminded the Caribbean that hurricanes were now manifesting themselves at a faster rate than before “to a situation where they went from a Category 2 to category 5 in a very short period of time.

“So we have to be prepared for any eventuality. We have to recognise that we have a history of damage, extensive damage from severe rainfall,” he said, adding that CDEMA has been promoting all year round the need to ensure ‘we could deal with any eventuality”.

He said several initiatives had been undertaken and the Barbados-based regional agency was also preparing for volcanic and earthquake incidents during the hurricane season.

“I know it is the hurricane season but we are also upgrading the volcanic, earthquake and tsunami aspects of our plan.

“Again, simply because it does not matter if you are in the hurricane season, you can have an event of nature, a volcano, tsunami or earthquake given the setting here in the Caribbean,” Jackson added.

By Laura Geggel, Associate Editor 

Scientists are predicting a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season this year, with two to four major hurricanes reaching at least Category 3 status, with winds of 111 mph (178 km/h) or higher, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today (May 23).

But this “near-normal” description doesn’t mean people in the U.S. Southeast and Eastern Seaboard can rest easy.

“That’s a lot of activity,” Gerry Bell, the lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, told reporters at a news conference today. “You need to start getting ready for the hurricane season now.”

[The 20 Costliest, Most Destructive Hurricanes to Hit the US]

The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season — which lasts from June 1 to Nov. 30 — is expected to have between nine and 15 named storms, which means they pack winds of 39 mph (62 kilometers/hour) or higher, NOAA reported. Of those, between four and eight could become hurricanes, meaning their winds reach speeds of 74 mph (119 km/h) or higher.

Although just four of these hurricanes may top Category 3 status, “it only takes one land-falling hurricane to cause great destruction to a community,” Daniel Kaniewski, the acting deputy administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told reporters.

During an average hurricane season, the Atlantic sees about 12 named storms, including six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Last year’s season was above average, with 15 named storms, including eight hurricanes, of which two were major — the destructive hurricanes Michael and Florence.

However, it’s impossible to know whether any of the storms or hurricanes predicted for the 2019 season will make landfall, said Neil Jacobs, acting NOAA administrator.

The officials added that this year marks the first time NOAA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites, including three operational next-generation satellites, were used to gather data for the hurricane forecast models. This data also helped NOAA issue a storm prediction for the eastern and central Pacific basins. According to NOAA, the Pacific should expect an above-normal season with 15 to 22 named storms, of which eight to 13 are expected to become cyclones (the term given to “hurricanes” in these parts of the Pacific). Of these, between four and eight could be major cyclones, NOAA reported.

See full story at : https://www.livescience.com/65551-2019-atlantic-hurricane-season.html?utm_source=notification

By Laura Geggel, Associate Editor | May 23, 2019

TMR – It’s that time of year again. Even though this focuses on the USA, just about all the warnings are applicable to us, all the way down here, right here in the Caribbean. Pay attention ALL and BE PREPARED.

Scientists are predicting a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season this year, with two to four major hurricanes reaching at least Category 3 status, with winds of 111 mph (178 km/h) or higher, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today (May 23).

But this “near-normal” description doesn’t mean people in the U.S. Southeast and Eastern Seaboard can rest easy.

“That’s a lot of activity,” Gerry Bell, the lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, told reporters at a news conference today. “You need to start getting ready for the hurricane season now.” [The 20 Costliest, Most Destructive Hurricanes to Hit the US]

The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season — which lasts from June 1 to Nov. 30 — is expected to have between nine and 15 named storms, which means they pack winds of 39 mph (62 kilometers/hour) or higher, NOAA reported. Of those, between four and eight could become hurricanes, meaning their winds reach speeds of 74 mph (119 km/h) or higher. Expect two to four Major Hurricanes in 2019The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to have a near-normal number of hurricanes, with nine to 15 named storms. Credit: NOAA

Although just four of these hurricanes may top Category 3 status, “it only takes one land-falling hurricane to cause great destruction to a community,” Daniel Kaniewski, the acting deputy administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told reporters.

During an average hurricane season, the Atlantic sees about 12 named storms, including six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Last year’s season was above average, with 15 named storms, including eight hurricanes, of which two were major — the destructive hurricanes Michael and Florence.

However, it’s impossible to know whether any of the storms or hurricanes predicted for the 2019 season will make landfall, said Neil Jacobs, acting NOAA administrator.

The officials added that this year marks the first time NOAA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites, including three operational next-generation satellites, were used to gather data for the hurricane forecast models. This data also helped NOAA issue a storm prediction for the eastern and central Pacific basins. According to NOAA, the Pacific should expect an above-normal season with 15 to 22 named storms, of which eight to 13 are expected to become cyclones (the term given to “hurricanes” in these parts of the Pacific). Of these, between four and eight could be major cyclones, NOAA reported.

What forces are involved?

A near-normal Atlantic hurricane season may sound surprising, given that there is an ongoing El Niño this year — a climate phenomenon known for warming waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that can impact weather worldwide. El Niño also acts to increase wind shear in the Atlantic, which disrupts the flow of heat and moisture, ingredients needed for hurricanes to form.

In other words, El Niño often suppresses hurricane activity in the Atlantic, Bell said.

But this year’s El Niño is weak, and it’s competing with the other climate factors. These hurricane-favoring factors are warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea (a pattern seen since 1995) and a strong monsoon in West Africa, Bell said. “They favor more activity,” Bell said.

What to do

People in hurricane-prone areas should make emergency plans now, Kaniewski said. This includes getting enough supplies — such as food, water and medicine — to last at least 72 hours, he said. In the event of a powerful storm or hurricane, people should also expect major communication networks to go down, so they should have a battery-powered radio to stay updated and have an emergency evacuation route in mind, he added.

Kaniewski also encouraged people to have cash on hand, in case the electricity goes out and ATMs and credit card swipe machines fail, as well as homeowners’ and flood insurance. To learn more, download the free FEMA application, which provides a number of services, including weather alerts, lists of open shelters and advice on emergency preparedness.

• Hurricanes from Above: Images of Nature’s Biggest Storms
• Photos: Hurricane Michael Toppled Over Trees and Uprooted 19th Century Artifacts
• Inside Irma’s Eye: Hurricane Hunters Capture Jaw-Dropping Photos

Originally published on Live Science.

David Arkley is the UK Policy Adviser to the Governor and Head of the Governor’s office. He and Major Alvin Ryan, Director of the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) are attending the annual UK Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda Disaster Managers conference in Miami, Florida.
The three-day conference which ends today Friday, May 17th, 2019, commonly referred to as the annual Hurricane conference is organized by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in conjunction with the Disaster Management Advisor for the OTs Jon Snell, who is stationed in Miami.
A release today from the Government Information Unit (GIU), informs that the meeting brings together Disaster Managers and Heads of Governors Offices from the various Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda, UK Defence officials, Officers from Royal Fleet Auxiliary RFA Mounts Bay and representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, the British Red Cross and the private sector.
The meeting is discussing lessons learnt from the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane season, hurricane preparedness for the upcoming season which officially begins on June 1st and other important matters related to disaster preparedness in the Caribbean OTs and Bermuda.
It also provides an opportunity for invited companies to showcase their products and emerging disaster management technologies.

Following warnings of caution, Tropical Storm Kirk which was due to pass well south of Montserrat, at 7.00 a.m., overnight had taken a dip to the south as it continued its westward journey. It was located Latitude: 13.5, Longitude:- 63, still with a windspeed of 50 mph and heading west, traveling 12 mph.

The reported forecast from Storm Tracks for TS Kirk as it moves into the middle of the Caribbean Sea is to continue on its westerly course at 50 mph.