With six shelters activated in West GrandBahama and the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) manned and preppedfor any eventuality associated with Tropical Storm-Force conditions fromHurricane Ian on Wednesday, Administrator Ricardo Ferguson said WestGrand Bahama fared well.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Grand Bahama and Bimini asHurricane Ian made its way from Cuba over to Florida, strengthening to aCategory 4 storm. The Bahamas Meteorology Department forecast thatresidents in Grand Bahama could experience flooding, gusty winds, severethunderstorm and potential tornadic activity.
Apart from gusty winds and light rains, Administrator Ferguson said therewere no issues. An assessment of the various townships conducted lateWednesday night and early Thursday morning revealed damage along thecoastal road from rocks and seaweed that had washed ashore as a result ofstorm surge.
Administrator Ferguson noted that immediate steps were taken Thursdaymorning to have the roadway cleared of the debris for ease of passage.One shelter in Holmes Rock and five others in Eight Mile Rock wereactivated on Wednesday morning.
Administrator Ferguson explained that, as a result of the small numbers,only one of the shelters, Bethel Deliverance Centre in Jones Town, wasutilized by three families, with 15 people in total. Following the all-clear,the EOC was deactivated at 10:00 am Thursday.
The West Grand Bahama Administrator pointed out that all of the sheltersare ready for the remainder of the Hurricane season, however, they are stillworking feverishly on preparing the Eight Mile Rock High SchoolGymnasium which will prove beneficial in the event a stronger storm comesalong.
“The preparations are still ongoing. We haven’t shut down completelybecause the season is not over yet, but we’re still being vigilant,” he said.
With six shelters activated in West Grand
Bahama and the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) manned and prepped
for any eventuality associated with Tropical Storm-Force conditions from
Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, Administrator Ricardo Ferguson said West
Grand Bahama fared well.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Grand Bahama and Bimini as
Hurricane Ian made its way from Cuba over to Florida, strengthening to a
Category 4 storm. The Bahamas Meteorology Department forecast that
residents in Grand Bahama could experience flooding, gusty winds, severe
thunderstorm and potential tornadic activity.
Apart from gusty winds and light rains, Administrator Ferguson said there
were no issues. An assessment of the various townships conducted late
Wednesday night and early Thursday morning revealed damage along the
coastal road from rocks and seaweed that had washed ashore as a result of
storm surge.
Administrator Ferguson noted that immediate steps were taken Thursday
morning to have the roadway cleared of the debris for ease of passage.
One shelter in Holmes Rock and five others in Eight Mile Rock were
activated on Wednesday morning.
Administrator Ferguson explained that, as a result of the small numbers,
only one of the shelters, Bethel Deliverance Centre in Jones Town, was
utilized by three families, with 15 people in total. Following the all-clear,
the EOC was deactivated at 10:00 am Thursday.
The West Grand Bahama Administrator pointed out that all of the shelters
are ready for the remainder of the Hurricane season, however, they are still
working feverishly on preparing the Eight Mile Rock High School
Gymnasium which will prove beneficial in the event a stronger storm comes
along.
“The preparations are still ongoing. We haven’t shut down completely
because the season is not over yet, but we’re still being vigilant,” he said.
