WHILE PREDICTIONS show a below average hurricane season, executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Management Agency, Ronald Jackson, is urging against complacency.
Speaking ahead of Monday’s start of the season, at CDEMA headquarters, Lears, St Michael, Jackson said it only took one weather system to cause millions of dollars in damage.
“In April the prediction was we would have seven named storms, three of them which had the potential to become hurricanes and one major hurricane. It has now been updated to suggest the possibility of six to 11 named storms, three to six hurricanes and up to two major hurricanes,” he told a news conference.
Jackson said there was a 70 per cent chance of a below average hurricane season where the average was 12 storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes, adding warmer weather due to El Nino was the most likely cause.
“CDEMA wants to advise is not to treat this as a cause for complacency. We have seen in previous forecasts evidence where there have been wild variations from what is expected but more importantly, it only takes one tropical disturbance to cause significant damage to our already fragile ecosystems, economies and settlements and loss of lives so we are encouraging vigilance in this regard,” he said. (CA)
