BRADES – The following is a statement from Her Excellency the Governor Elizabeth Carriere on the Passing of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Danny.
“As all of you will now be aware, Tropical Storm Danny has passed us by, leaving us with welcome rain and moderate winds. For all of us, this is a blessing.
But it is important as well to recognise that all of us need to ensure that we are – and continue to be – prepared for any eventuality during the hurricane season. Let’s not let complacency undermine this. Danny posed a real threat. Preparations for possible eventualities with this storm (and we should all remember that it was classified as a Category 3 hurricane as late as Friday last week) were a necessary test of our responsibility to protect everyone on the island.
“For me, 3 weeks after arriving in Montserrat, this has been an extremely worthwhile introduction to how Montserrat is set up to handle weather events during the hurricane season. As I said in an earlier message, I have been impressed with the level of commitment and cooperation among Montserratians and others to ensure that the Island is prepared for storms and hurricanes. I remain impressed in particular by how the DMCA, the Police, the Royal Montserrat Defence Force and the Red Cross – entities for which I have responsibility in my defence and security role – rallied together to ensure a robust and timely response to the oncoming storm. And I am heartened as well by their sensitivity to the needs of vulnerable members of the community.
“This storm event gave us all the opportunity to test our own readiness, and to see Montserrat’s emergency response systems and plans activated and tested. This is invaluable, and potentially life-saving, in the event of more serious events over the hurricane season and beyond. I and colleagues learned a great deal from this live test. While bolstering my own confidence that we have a solid response system, we have been able to identify immediate and longer term opportunities for strengthening and improving responses.
“Let’s all keep up our levels of preparedness during this hurricane season, not least because of the possibility of the formation of another weather event coming our way later in the week. After meeting today to assess the current situation, the Emergency Policy Group ( which, in addition to myself, includes the Honourable Premier, his Permanent Secretary, the Honourable Deputy Governor, the Director of Disaster Management, the Commissioner of Police, press and communications officer and my UK Policy Adviser) will meet again tomorrow to continue to assess and monitor. Our goal remains to maximise the quality of the response, and remain vigilant and ready to protect the citizens and assets of Montserrat during the dangerous and unpredictable hurricane season. I hope everyone in Montserrat will continue to support us in achieving that.”
