Hurricane conditions expected Wednesday morning
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director, Captain Stephen Russell urging residents to take heed ahead of evacuation plans and named shelters being finalized as teams prepare to move into areas expected to be impacted by subtropical storm Nicole which is intended to be a hurricane by the time it makes landfall in The Bahamas.
The Bahamas Department of Meteorology has advised residents in the Northwest Bahamas should prepare for tropical storm conditions beginning tonight. Residents on the islands of Grand Bahama, Abaco, Bimini and the Berry Islands should anticipate hurricane conditions beginning early Wednesday morning.
“We can’t go manhandling and yuck persons off,” Russell said.
“I cannot ask emergency persons to go and yuck persons from areas that have been declared evacuation zones for mandatory evacuations, but we can encourage persons as best we can through their family members.
“If all else fails we simply just have to say, look here let us know who is your next of kin. We cannot go wrangling with persons to move,” Russell said.
A total of 28 shelters on Grand Bahama and Abaco will be activated on Tuesday morning at 9am. Twelve shelters in Abaco, and 16 in Grand Bahama.
“We have plans to evacuate persons from Grand Cay as well as Sweetings Cay and to bring them into the mainland […] and that plan of action will be activated as early as 9 a.m. in the morning for shelters and evacuations
“[…] We urge persons in those areas where we are deeming areas to evacuate, we strongly urge people that once a team comes to evacuate them from the area, please move with the team. Once the teams would have departed they’re not coming back.”
Shelters are a priority as the storm nears with officials expanding the available shelters as the need increases. Department of Social Services Chief Welfare Officer, Andrea Newbold said that they are still in the process of getting more shelters ready.
Newbold explained that shelters will be well equipped to assist people for up to three days if the need persists and that social services is also in communication with NEMA teams for additional assistance after the storm.
“At this point we took in consideration the COVID pandemic and Grand Bahama added more shelters […] initially, they had 11 and now they added five more. We would like to have those gyms up and running so they will accommodate more persons
“The shelters are usually open for three days Dorian has showed us that you know we can even stay longer based on the intensity of a storm.”
Another area of concern for evacuation teams is persons dwelling in RV’s in Grand Bahama and Abaco, whom Russell said are also being advised to evacuate, or find refuge in a shelter.
“We are aware that we have some 100 or more RV’s that are throughout Grand Bahama that persons are living in in the aftermath of hurricane Dorian with a category one storm approaching those areas we don’t want no one living in RV’s or even in the domes that are on peoples personal properties.”
In recent months the immigration issue has been a mounting concern for officials, Russell said in this regard, because illegal housing is not up to code, many residing in shantytowns, also deemed, vulnerable communities are also expected to evacuate to shelters for safety.
“We need persons to evacuate when the order for evacuation is announced […] a new migrant community has exploded in Marsh Harbour from 50 acres to 200 acres.
“Again our aim is based on the projected path of the storm we want to urge persons in those vulnerable areas to evacuate and go to some safe locations.”
Russell said that Grand Bahama and Abaco can start experiencing hurricane conditions as early as 11 p.m. on Thursday and that the storm is not projected to strengthen to more than a Category one.
