Ministry of Works & Urban Development

Statement by the Deputy Prime Minister/Minister

All Roads in New Providence Passable
 
  The Ministry of Works & Urban Development announces that as of 6:00pm today (10th October 2016), all roads in New Providence have been made passable.

  Hurricane Matthew, left The Bahamas as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving a trail of devastation in New Providence with most roads impassable.  In advance of the event, my Ministry busied itself preparing our transport infrastructure to withstand the onslaught by trimming overhanging branches, clearing drains, and strategically placing heavy equipment to allow immediate post-hurricane clearing operations.  This measures resulted in the flood waters receded quickly.

  Even before the “All Clear” was given, my officers began carrying out inspections and clearing obstructions.  Within 24 hours, the Ministry of Works was able to ensure that all major routes in New Providence passable.  As far as we are aware, apart from a few exceptions where the trees are entangled with power lines, there are no blockages in New Providence roads.  In those cases, my Ministry is working with Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) to remove these as well.

The cut trees have been placed on the sides of the roads.  These will be removed over the next week or so to be mulched.  At the same time, drains will be cleared to minimise flooding in the case of rainfall.

I commend the enthusiasm of my staff, who, notwithstanding personal losses, rose to the challenge of disaster response – many of them working outside of the realm of terms of their employment.  It is because of their commitment to our recovery that we have attained this milestone achievement within four days.  I acknowledge the contribution of ordinary citizens, many men and women, who initiated self-help activities to clear roads.  As well, I thank our contractors who stood ready and took action as directed.  This is yet the beginning of a long haul to recovery.

 If my Ministry has inadvertently missed any blockages, please inform us via the Ministry of Works & Urban Development’s Facebook Page or on 302-9700 or through NEMA on 322-6081, so we may remove these as well.

Hon. Philip E. Davis, Q.C., M.P.
10th October 2016

ATTENTION - IMPORTANT  NOTICE - FUEL SUPPLIES

Ed Fields spoke to the Chairman of Sun Oil and he quoted

"While the jetty at Clifton Pier has been damaged, fuel supplies to the Bahamas have not been impacted.

THERE IS NO NEED FOR PANIC. FUEL SUPPLIES HAVE NOT BEEN SHUT OFF.

IF YOU HAVE GAS IN YOUR CAR THERE IS NO NEED TO STAY ON LINES IF YOU JUST  WANT TO TOP UP OR STORE GAS.

Bahamas Power and Light Company Limited (BPL) is preparing to begin the initial stage of restoration in New Providence as Hurricane Matthew exits our area.

BPL advises that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has not given the all clear; therefore, crews cannot carry out a full assessment of the damage on New Providence in order to begin restoration work.  The company advises that once NEMA issues the all clear, crews will be out immediately carrying out assessments so that BPL can mobilize restoration teams on the island.

Preparing for that, BPL has already carried out assessments of its Blue Hills Power Station and several substations and are now prepared to provide service to critical departments including the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Royal Bahamas Police Force Headquarters.

Based on the reports of our customers, BPL anticipates widespread damage to its distribution network in New Providence and this could mean longer periods of supply interruption for customers.

You can help:
1. Once the all-clear is issued and our initial assessments are complete, BPL crews will be working.  We encourage anyone who does not have to be on the streets to please stay indoors as heavy traffic could hamper the restoration effort.
2. Customers are encouraged to continue reporting damage to BPL’s Command Centre at 302-1800 or 323-5561 or BPL’s Facebook page if they have phone services available.
3. Be patient. The damage is likely significant in New Providence and it will take time to complete the restoration work.

Similar to New Providence, BPL is already starting to restore supply to customers in the Southeastern and Central Bahamas. Supply has been restored to parts of Cat Island and South Andros and fully restored in Rum Cay, Long Cay San Salvador, Mayaguana, and Crooked Island. Efforts are underway to begin restoring supply in Long Island.

Supply remains off in Exuma and Eleuthera.

BPL’s operations in Bimini, Great Harbour Cay and Abaco are presently being impacted by the storm.

"Dear Customers,

Just after midnight BPL completed restoration to customers impacted by a system disturbance on Wednesday night.

As winds reached 40 mph BPL exercised the controlled shutdown of several areas. As we get increasing reports of blown transformers and downed powerlines BPL will immediately suspend supply to these areas to prevent anyone from being injured. We encourage our customers to either send us private messages on Facebook or contact our Hurricane Command Centre at 3021800 or 323-5561. Please, we urge customers to remain indoors and stay away from any downed powerlines.

As conditions are expected to worsen, BPL will only provide power where it is safe!

If your supply is off, it will remain off until the all clear is given and we are able to do an initial assessment. Once it's safe for our crews to begin working, they will start power restoration.

We ask for your patience as we all weather this storm."