Bajans in the tri-state area are battening down, stacking up and otherwise preparing as best they can for the threatened strong winds of Hurricane Irene.
With New York City planning to shut down its extensive subway system and the Long Island Railroad expected to suspend operation by noon tomorrow.
Barbadians, like most people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are taking the hurricane warnings seriously but don’t seem to be in a panic as New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo and the City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg urge people to take the necessary precautions to minimize injury, death or damage.
“We are taking it seriously and we are getting additional supplies and food just in just in case Irene strikes and we are forced to go for sometime without day-to-day necessities,” said Carrie Franklin, a Brooklyn resident for more than 30 years. “My husband (Mitchell) went to the supermarket and found it extremely crowded as people heed the advice of officials and meteorologists. For instance, there weren’t batteries or any bottled water available. The stock was all sold out. But there isn’t any sense of panic in our neighbourhood. People are just preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.”
Andre Padmore, Barbados’ Consul in New York, had a somewhat similar reaction as the airwaves, both radio and television, are filled with extensive wall-to-wall coverage of the looming storm.
“We asked the members of the staff how they felt and while they were concerned about the problem ahead there wasn’t any panic,” Padmore told the Saturday Sun. “We decided to keep the office open until the close of the business day. Our staff members were taking things in stride.”
Campbell Rudder, the Barbados Tourism Authority’s Vice President for the United States, said that like the Consulate-General, the BTA’s Manhattan office remained open until the end of the day.
Jessica Odle-Baril, a former Consul-General who lives on Long Island said that she too was stocking up with the items that would keep her home going if Irene struck, “preparing for the worst but still praying that it wouldn’t turn out to be devastating” or serious.
Jackie Rogers, a Barbadian in Stamford Connecticut, has adopted a similar approach.
“I haven’t detected any sense of panic. It’s a matter of preparing and hoping for the best,” she said.
