Hurricane Season Soon Come: Assume Nothing, Expect Anything. Be Prepared! - Civic leader Joe Issa Ahead of the 2016 hurricane season, Member of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce Past President Committee, Joseph J. Issa, urges Jamaicans to “forget who predicts what; assume the worst and be prepared!” “I know many people will plan according to the level of activity forecasted by the various agencies and institutions, but with wide differences in number and intensity of hurricanes, one will never know who is correct until the season is over. So, we must expect the worst throughout the season and plan for it,” says Issa, who is the executive chairman of Cool Group of companies. Issa has in the past urged residents of St. Ann where his business is headquartered, not to be complacent in their preparations for the annual hurricane season starting June 1 and ending November 30 each year.
“Every year Jamaicans tend to wait for a hurricane to approach before they start taking measures to protect their lives and property, the consequence of which has been devastation,” Issa states, noting that “the fact that we were spared last year doesn’t mean we will this year.” According to Wikipedia, “the season started exceptionally early this year, nearly five months before the official start, with Hurricane Alex forming in the Northeastern Atlantic in midJanuary…To this point most forecasting groups have called for this season to be anywhere from near-normal to hyperactive.” It said the first forecast for the year was issued on December 11, 2015 by Colorado State University (CSU), which anticipated one of four different scenarios occurring. Less than a week later, the Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) Consortium of the University College London, predicted there would be 13 tropical storms, 5 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes.
A few months later, TSR issued their second prediction for the season during April 6, 2016 and lowered the predicted number of named storms to 12 but raised the number of hurricanes to 6. On April 14, CSU predicted that the season would be nearnormal, predicting 13 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes. But the very next day, North Carolina State University predicted the season would be very active, with 1518 named storms, 8-11 hurricanes and 3-5 major hurricanes. “So, who is to be believed?” Issa asks, stating that “we should always expect the worst; you can’t go wrong. Just keep listening to the news as the ODPEM ( Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management) will inform of the latest developments.
“ODPEM’s website has tips on how to prepare for a hurricane, as well as an emergency contact list with 24-hour telephone numbers of essential employees and official response agencies which everyone should be acquainted with before, during and after,” Issa informs.