Editorial | Storms and drains

The best disasters are those that never happen. The next best thing, however, is to be as prepared as possible if they strike.

We hope that is Jamaica’s situation as the island enters the annual Atlantic hurricane season, which weather experts warn is likely to be exceedingly active because of the La Niña phenomenon, when the movement of ocean currents, their temperatures and a lessening of disruptive vertical wind shear in the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea combine to favour the formation of storms.

In an average hurricane season, the experts say, there are around 14 named storms, seven of which grow to become hurricanes – three of them major.

Last year, however, there were 20 named storms, nearly one-and-half times the average, and the fourth most active season in 73 years. Seven of those storms became hurricanes.

Happily, in 2023 storms largely veered wide of Jamaica. The island was spared the deaths, destruction and disruption of people’s lives that often result from catastrophes. Unfortunately, many of our neighbours, especially to the north, were not so lucky.

For 2024, the meteorologists predict between 17 and 25 named storms and that between eight and 13 of these will be hurricanes; that is, their wind speeds will reach at least 74 miles, or 119 kilometres, per hour. Between four and seven of the projected hurricanes are expected to reach Category 3 status – storms with the potential to cause ‘devastating’ damage and carrying sustained winds of 111-129 miles per hour.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR OWN SAFETY

Given the experts’ prognostications, The Gleaner supports what essentially is an exhortation by Prime Minister Andrew Holness to Jamaicans to take a fair bit of responsibility for their own safety.

“... Do your household preparation,” Mr Holness advised Jamaicans at a meeting of the National Disaster Risk Management Council of which he is the chairman. “Put aside food stock and water as much as you can, and make provisions for the protection of your important documents or valuables.”

People, he advised, should, insofar as possible, also tend to the physical protection of their property.

He said: “Look at your home and see what is likely to be destroyed in a hurricane, such as roofs, windows, doors, and even trees that are in proximity to your home. Start making preparations to cut some of those branches that might become projectiles.”

Of course, there are things, like those highlighted by the prime minister, that may be in the control of many citizens. However, there are others that are clearly the obligation of the Government, which, although they are easy to achieve, it often fails to accomplish. Or scrambles to do only at the eleventh hour.

In that regard, the announcement by the finance minister, Nigel Clarke, that the Government has again floated catastrophe bonds for the next three Atlantic hurricane seasons, up to 2027 (and the declarations of just how foresighted and cutting-edge this was when it was first done), is applauded. Indeed, Government estimates are that between 1990 and 2014, damage from natural disasters annually cost Jamaica 0.6 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP). That cost, though, is minuscule compared to the nearly 30 per cent of GDP left by Hurricane Gilbert 36 years ago when hurricane resilience, especially in home construction, was not as good as today.

TRIGGER PAYOUT

So, a bond coverage of up to US$185 million (approximately J$39 billion) to help the island recover from a hurricane of a magnitude that would trigger a payout is quite sensible.

We welcome, too, the disaster early-warning system that Japan has gifted Jamaica – and which, based on the statements of the local government minister, Desmond McKenzie, should by now be in place. If properly used, such a system should improve the Government’s ability to communicate with and mobilise citizens into action in the event of crises.

Then there are the small things – like the regular cleaning of critical drains and gullies – many of which are blocked with plastic bottles and other garbage, or are so heavily silted as to create forested islands along their courses – that are vital to the preparation for the hurricane season.

When drains and other water courses are not cleaned and are blocked with garbage, they are likely to overflow, even in relatively small events. In urban communities, especially, these can cause significant and disruptive flooding. The shame is that the problem recurs. The garbage still piles up.

Jamaica is less than a week into the hurricane season. No storms have been formed as yet. There is, it seems, still time to clean the drains and limit the perennial problem of overflowing drains from little rainfall. We hope Mr McKenzie is on to it.