Tornado alert 'negligence'
Employee "negligence" at the Department of Meteorology is the reason an extreme weather warning was not issued to Grand Bahama before a killer tornado ripped through the island, a high-ranking government official admitted to The Tribune Tuesday.

The admission came the same day Environment Minister Earl Deveaux revealed that "breakdown in protocol" was behind the blunder.

He said a weather observer on Grand Bahama had given "funnel cloud" reports - which form into a tornado if they touch land - to the Met Department as early as 6am on Monday.

However forecasters in Nassau did not pass on the vital information until midday - after the deadly tornado struck Grand Bahama.

This follows claims put to The Tribune that one or several employees at the Met Office, responsible for transmitting weather information to the relevant authorities, left their posts early causing the warning to be given late.

Click here to read more in The Tribune

PM: Container Port had all relevant weather information

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama — Following a tour of the Freeport Container Port 24 hours after it was hit by a deadly tornado, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham told reporters yesterday that he was advised by officials at the facility that they had "relevant information in respect to weather conditions" on Monday.

"They get it (weather information) from the airport and the harbor," Ingraham said.

"All the planes that were coming into Grand Bahama could land and take off yesterday because of weather conditions. There was nothing to hinder the arrival or departure of any ship and this was a very sudden event. Now, I say none of that to say that the met office should not have issued a warning of bad weather.

"Whether or not that warning could have also said that tornadoes were likely is another matter. Well, we will cause an investigation to be done of that and make public the results and if we find that people were negligent appropriate action will be taken and such persons will be dealt with."

Click here to read more in The Nassau Guardian

Survivor of crane tragedy doesn't know friends are dead
The only survivor among four men who were inside the machine room of the 400 foot gantry crane which collapsed at the Freeport Container Port after it was struck by a tornado Monday has not yet been told that his three friends have died, his wife said yesterday.

Father of two Glen Bodie is currently being treated at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport for a fractured skull, cracked vetebrae, broken rib and a bruised lung, his wife Janet revealed.

She described the Port employee of six year's condition as "improving".

"He knows who we are now, but he's in pain - head pain and neck pain," she told The Tribune. She said her husband has been trying to call and text his friends Cleve Lowe, Mike Young and Sean Saunders from his hospital bed but his family do not have the heart to break the bad news to him yet.

Click here to read more in The Tribune

PM Tours Grand Bahama after tornadoes
Here is a video from Grand Bahama TV showing the Prime Minister on a tour of Grand Bahama Tuesday:

Tornado devastation on Grand Bahama raises PI bridge fears
Immediate action is needed to repair the footings of the old Paradise Island bridge as engineers warn that the entire super-structure could fail if a tornado were to hit the aging landmark.

Following the devastation seen in Grand Bahama on Monday, fears were raised in New Providence around the stability of the eastern bridge.

With the structure having been built under the UBP in 1966, the bridge has been without any major repairs for at least five years.

In 2005, Paul Hanna and Associates were contracted by the previous PLP government to undertake an inspection of both bridges connecting New Providence to Paradise Island. At the time, concerns were high over the age of the eastern bridge, and the number of cracks and exposed metal that residents could see whenever they visited Potter's Cay dock.

According to Paul Hanna, he recommended at that time that "immediate" action be undertaken at least "within 12 months" to repair the footings of the bridge as it was being undermined by scouring action from passing ships.

However, since then, "nothing" has been done.

Click here to read more in The Tribune

Tornado struck 'lifeblood' of the Freeport economy
The multi-million dollar damage inflicted upon the Freeport Container Port and other businesses by Monday's tornado was "the last thing" the island needed, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce's president said Monday, the storm hitting at the "lifeblood" of its economy.

Acknowledging the "concern" among Grand Bahamians about the Freeport Container Port's short-term future, K Peter Turnquest said he hoped the facility would just be "shut down for a couple of days" following the crane collapse that killed three workers and injured several others.

The industrial/manufacturing sector has been the one that has kept the Grand Bahama economy going post-2004, led by the Freeport Container Port, which employs between 800-850 persons, accounting for a significant chunk of the island's workforce.

Click here to read more in The Tribune

Tornado exposes 'perils' of ending insurance cover
Bahamian general insurance carriers yesterday said that while Monday's tornado was unlikely to impact property and casualty premiums "one way or another" in this nation, its showed the 'perils' facing many Bahamians who had elected to drop catastrophe insurance in a desperate bid to save money.

Steve Watson, RoyalStar's managing director, told Tribune Business that Bahamians who had chosen to increase their policy deductibles, in a bid to reduce premium payments, might also lose out if they make claims related to the Grand Bahama tornado because, in some instances, the amount of damage caused was likely to be covered by that deductible. This would mean that the policyholder, not the carrier, would cover the costs.

"It's too early to say," Mr Watson said of the total damage cost from Monday's tornado, the likely level of claims and the impact on property/casualty premiums going forward.

"There's some high-profile damage," he added, "but for the most part the damage is very localised. I don't see it changing rates one way or another. I don't think it's material, even though it does show that risks are wide, varied and come from unexpected sources.

Click here to read more in The Tribune

Cruise line canceled GB call following tornado
The deadly tornado which touched down on the nation's second city on Monday prompted at least one cruise ship to cancel its call on Grand Bahama - which is already struggling to attract visitors.

Carnival Cruise Lines canceled Carnival Sensation's scheduled call in Freeport on Monday due to the weather conditions. The cruise ship opted to have a day at sea instead, according to Director General of Tourism Vernice Walkine.

She said as far as she knows Sensation is the only cruise ship that canceled its stop to the island. Walkine noted that Discovery Cruise Line did call on Freeport on Monday.

Click here to read more in The Nassau Guardian

PM inspects tornado damage, meets bereaved families
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama - Following the deadly tornados which struck Grand Bahama, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham Tuesday toured severely damaged areas on the island and visited the injured container port workers and the families of the three men who were killed.

On his arrival to Freeport around noon, Mr Ingraham and several high-level cabinet ministers stopped first at the Rand Memorial Hospital to visit with the four persons - a woman and three men - who were injured at the port.

Glen Bodie was one of the four patients the Prime Minister met at the hospital. After leaving the medical ward, Mr Ingraham met the families of Cleveland Lowe and Shawn Saunders and offered his sympathies to them on their tragic loss.

Mr Ingraham and his entourage, which included National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes, Public Works Minister Neko Grant, Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing and Deputy House Speaker Kwasi Thompson, then went to the Freeport Container Port to view the damage.

Click here to read more in The Tribune

Christie visits tornado injured in hospital
PLP Leader Perry Christie visited the Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama Tuesday to speak with injured persons who survived the deadly tornadoes that wrecked havoc on the already struggling island of Grand Bahama.

Along with his party chairman Bradley Roberts, Mr Christie was accompanied by Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell, former party chairman and PLP MP for Englerston Glenys Hanna-Martin, and the party's representative for West End and Bimini Obie Wilchcombe.

Spending over an hour and a half at the hospital, the party's leader also got an opportunity to speak with the CEO of the container port where three persons lost their lives on Monday.

Click here to read more in The Tribune

As of yesterday, the teacher allegedly involved in sexually inappropriate behaviour at the Oaksfield Primary School was placed on paid administrative leave.

Director of Education, Lionel Sands, said he was awaiting three reports which would direct how the Ministry of Education (MOE) proceeds on the matter.

The Ministry's Sexual Complaints Unit, the Department of Social Services and the Royal Bahamas Police Force are preparing reports on the matter.

"The police report will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to have the teacher charged in court for the kind of behaviour it is alleged he was involved in. We also send it to the Public Service Department to see if there is any cause to seek to have the teacher terminated based on any breach in ethical behaviour," said Mr Sands.

Tribune sources confirmed a parent removed her child from the primary school last week, being dissatisfied with what she said was a lack of action from the Ministry.

Principal Bell Gray said student transfers were quite common.

She could not say whether any of the recent transfers were related to the allegations of sexual misconduct.

Reports surfaced more than one week ago of student accusations. In response, Minister of Education Desmond Bannister confirmed an "active investigation" was on-going at the school. At the time, Mr Sands was off from work.

Click here to read more in The Tribune

FREEPORT, Grand Bahamas - Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham plans to be in Grand Bahama today, assessing the situation after a tornado led to several deaths and caused severe damage when it touched down in Freeport.

The Prime Minister cancelled plans to attend Tyler Perry's premier of Why Did I get Married Too at the Atlantis Resort last night and said he would visit Freeport today.

Grand Bahama had been warned of severe weather yesterday, including thunderstorms, lightning and funnel clouds. Along with heavy rains, the weather included at least one tornado, which damaged six cranes at the Freeport Container Port.

A release from Container Port confirmed that three employees were killed when a crane they were working on crashed into the harbour during the tornado.

Six cranes at the port were damaged. The company said the port will be closed for several days and will operate at a reduced capacity for some time once it reopens.

Chief Executive Officer Gary Gilbert and Director Godfrey Smith expressed deepest sympathies to the families of the three dead men and said they are praying for the recovery of the injured.

“It is our hope that these persons recover fully from their injuries,” said Mr. Smith. We grieve with the families of those who lost their lives today, and as we regret the loss of life of anyone we are deeply saddened by the incident that took the lives of our employees.

Yesterday's severe weather warning was extended to the northern Bahamas in the afternoon but lifted a few hours later.

According to the Met Office the system associated with the severe weather had begun to dissipate, leaving scattered showers and possible thunderstorms until midnight.

Today a cold front is moving southwards over The Bahamas leading to partly sunny weather with a chance of passing showers. The weather is expected to cool tonight to around 70 degrees depending on your island.

Read more in The Tribune here

UPDATE: Four reported dead in Grand Bahama tornadoes
According to the Bahamas Press and Y98 radio, four people were killed during today's storms - Micheal Young, Clever Lowe, Shawn Saunders and Glen Bodie, all workers at the Freeport Container Port. They also reported pandemonium at the Rand Memorial Hospital as injured people are brought to the emergency room.

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – The Met Office is gathering information on tornado activity in Grand Bahama and warned that more bad weather is on the way. Public schools on the island have been closed and parents asked to collect their children early.

Chief Met Officer at Nassau International Airport, Arnold King, said their office had received reports of tornadoes and thunderstorms.

King said the bad weather is being caused by a cold front coming into Grand Bahama and clashing with the warmer air there. He said that the mixing hot and cold air would cause more bad weather as the system gets closer.

The Department of Meteorology had warned of severe weather in Grand Bahama, including thunderstorms, heavy rain, lighting as well as funnel clouds that might become water spouts or hurricanes.

The weather will also affect New Providence later this evening although King said it would probably be milder by the time it got to the capital.

Speaking to Bahamas Local at 2.40pm, a worker at the Grand Bahama Shipyard said the company was preparing for more bad weather. It was spraying when he gave the interview.

The worker said a man was killed when the tornado caused several cranes to collapse at the nearby Freeport Container Port, crushing a mechanic who was working on one of the cranes and sending another into the water. He said rescuers had not yet found the man who was tossed in the water.

The Tribune reported that two suspected tornadoes struck southern Grand Bahama around 1pm. They received reports of damage at Island Seas Resort in Willams Town and damage in Fortune Bay and Port Lucaya.