Bahamian Politics
Branville McCartney on Preparing for Hurricane Matthew
By Branville McCartney, Leader, Democratic National Alliance (DNA)
Oct 3, 2016 - 4:09:50 PM

One year ago, hurricane Joaquin barreled through the South Eastern Bahamas as a powerful Category four system, causing unspeakable damage to the lives of Bahamians, many of whom lost everything. Now, the Bahamas is once again under the threat of a major storm and from forecast projections, Bahamians on the islands most affected by Joaquin in 2015 are once again in the potential path of destruction.

As the storm prepares to approach Jamaica, we were pleased to note the decision by the government to bring Bahamian students from the University of the West Indies Home. However MORE ACTION and specific government intervention will be needed to help Bahamians prepare for the impending system, particularly those who are still recovering from the damage left behind by Joaquin. What if any additional support is being provided to those residents? And what steps have been taken thus far to ensure that the even minimal recovery efforts started after Joaquin will not be totally undone by the passage of Matthew?

According to hurricane alerts issued by NEMA, Matthew continues to fluctuate in intensity, weakening only slightly from a Category 5 storm to a Category 4 storm. A hurricane watch has been issued for for the Southeastern Bahamas, this means that residents on the islands of Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins, Ragged Island, Long Cay, Samana Cay and the Turks and Caicos Islands could begin feeling the impacts of this very dangerous storm by early Tuesday.

Residents Across other parts of the country should also be taking the necessary precautions this includes the islands in the Northwest and Central Bahamas namely Long Island, Cat Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador, The Exumas, Eleuthera, New Providence, Andros, The Berry Islands, Bimini, Grand Bahama Island and Abaco as well.

The Democratic National Alliance would like to encourage all Bahamians to prepare for the impact of this impending storm. THIS STORM IS NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY! Residents living on the aforementioned islands, find the shelters nearest to your home and develop an evacuation plan with your families in the event that you may need to avail yourselves of such accommodations. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE TO EVACUATE YOUR RESIDENCE! By now, we hope that residents have already secured the necessary non-perishable items which may be needed to ride out the effects of the storm over the next several days.

In an effort to protect lives and property, we encourage the public to take the necessary precautions – which include removing debris or other items which could become airborne projectiles in high winds –from their properties. Matthew is expected to bring with it, strong winds and heavy rains which will likely result in severe flooding therefore we encourage you to properly secure valuable items high up so as to avoid the impact of possible storm surges. The DNA would like to encourage citizens across the country to pay close attention to all local media broadcasts for the most up to date information regarding Matthew as we continue to pray that our country be spared any significant damage or loss of life.

Branville McCartney
DNA Leader

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