On Wednesday last week, at 4 pm, I heard about this hurricane. It was on track to hit Jamaica.
When I got home I checked boatus.com. This is site which insures yachts. Hence, they are very concerned about not paying any money. So they tend to be spot on.
boatus.com had the hurricane, Matthew, veering to the East, therefore it would hit Haiti and miss Jamaica.
Yet, from Wednesday to Monday is a long time, and things could change.
Hysteria ruled Jamaica. Politicians were racing around demanding their voters relocate to higher ground.
The Office of Disaster Prepardness and Emergency Management was listing the horrific damage this storm would cause. He displayed the 2 pm images, (the ones I had seen at 4 pm) not those updated at 7.
By Thursday people were expecting the world to end, racing out, buying up goods, battening down, and some going to ‘shelters’.
In Jamaica, whatever can be stolen, appropriated, or otherwise inserted in pockets is, so the shelters were empty rooms. People had to bring their own beds, toiletries and food.
Some people didn’t know this. They thought a shelter was a shelter. Poor things.
By Friday everything set for Sunday/Monday/Tuesday was cancelled. That means school and court and functions.
People were walking around in a state of impending doom.
However, boatus.com had the storm missing Jamaica and hitting Haiti.
The terror continued through Saturday and Sunday, when there was a brief thunderstorm. This was enough to flood roads, cause the electric power to trip out.
That was Sunday.
On Monday there was a light rain. Tuesday dawned calm.
The terror created by the ODPEM and Government due to their inability to read a weather map or listen to experts, has caused great dislocation.
Of course, this isn’t the first time.
In 2010, hysteria over a storm called Tomas had buses removed from the road, shelters opened, and people running in circles.
At the time, on the Disaster Preparedness, I tried to alert the Powers That Be that the storm would NOT hit Jamaica. This was pointless. No one listened to me.
While everyone ran for cover, I sat on the beach. As with Matthew, it went East, it did not strike Jamaica.
The problem goes deeper than just this panic. As Jamaica continues to give jobs to people for off the record reasons, one can’t expect competence.
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Natural calamities in any form are dangerous. They could wreak a great havoc to lives, properties and crops. In our country, typhoon is the common natural catastrophe that often hits the island. Homes are badly damaged. Lives are claimed. Flash floods add danger to those people who are living near the river. Government especially the Disaster Risk Reduction Management is in great mobilization to send rescue operations.
Storm usually takes two or three days raging its wrath all over the country. Public typhoon signal is hoisted to make everyone aware and so that they may know what precautionary measures to do. When storm signal number 3 is announced all works in government offices and private agencies are suspended. Of course, classes in all level are also suspended. After the storm our country suffered lots of damages.
The point is; the hurricane was going to pass Jamaica. This was seen on the maps posted on Boatus from Weds. evening. The insanity it caused will make the next time a storm is predicted, be ignored.