Experts advise Belizeans to prepare now for hurricanes
In case you’ve missed all the warnings, today marks the official start of hurricane season. Belize might have escaped disaster last year but as News Five’s Jacqueline Godwin reports, preparedness is key.
Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
Hurricanes remain one of the most unpredictable forces of nature but scientists have been getting better in tracking these often destructive and deadly storms.
?Weather experts say based on present climatic conditions, this year the Caribbean will be very active.?
Chief Meteorologist Carlos Fuller says the Atlantic Ocean is in the middle of a heightened cycle of activity a cycle that will remain active for several more years.
Carlos Fuller, Chief Meteorologist
?When we look back for the past one hundred years we now recognized that there is a cyclical activity where hurricanes are concerned, a twenty to thirty year period of low activity followed by a twenty to thirty years of high activity. In this case, in 1995, we began that high activity so we are in the middle of an active cycle that will last ten, twenty years.?
Experts are predicting that there will be seventeen named storms this year. Nine will become hurricanes and five are forecasted to be intense or major events. Today, Fuller advises Belizeans to start monitoring weather now.
Carlos Fuller
?There have been cases where we have gotten the first letter of the alphabet in June. In the year 1961, indeed we were hit twice by hurricanes but people only remember Hattie, the second one. They forgot the first one which was something like in July affected Dangriga, so we have to be prepared from the first of June.?
The National Emergency Management Organization says preparations for the 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season began at the end of last year?s season. However, there are major concerns about two specific locations that if hit, would suffer extensive damage.
Carlos Fuller
?The parts that have not gotten a severe hurricane have been Belize City and Dangriga. Belize City since 1961, and Dangriga since 1978 with Greta. Those two areas I believe, there housing stock are on the weaker side so if a hurricane would affect them that is where we would see significant damage.?
Technology at the National Meteorological Service has improved but one vital piece of equipment will not be around this year.
Carlos Fuller
?Our old radar has been discontinued. It just cannot function anymore. It is just too consuming of resources and man power to try to get it going. One way to fix it will cost us ten thousand dollars, to put in place and we still don?t know if that would make it work. So we have decided to put it to rest. It does hamper us but it does not leave us blind we still have satellite imagery. We do have our national network of weather stations around. We do get data from various sources, so we are not blind. If they can honestly say yes, I know what I am going to do then our problems are ninety percent solved because we just have to implement it. However, if that person says no I don?t know what I am going to do, then that person is in trouble and should really sit down tonight and decide then and there what that plan is going to be.?
Jacqueline Godwin for News Five.
The named storms for the 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season are Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, Tony, Valerie and William.
