POND ISLAND–Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin and Disaster Coordinator Fire Chief Clive Richardson are thankful the country was spared from any tropical storm or hurricane in the 2018 hurricane season. The six-month season ended on Friday.
The season has been a busy one for the Atlantic Ocean and has been overall described as destructive.
“The hurricane season 2018 is over, and God has spared St. Maarten and many of the islands in the region. I am truly thankful that as a community we were able to make it through this hurricane season without any major incidents. I say ‘thank you’ once again to our residents and guests for taking all the necessary precautions and being diligent in their preparations,” Romeo-Marlin said.
“Despite a busy hurricane season, St. Maarten did not experience any weather from the systems that did make their way near or through the Caribbean. However, we should remain all vigilant, because hurricanes are not limited to the hurricane season alone.” Romeo-Marlin said. “We have much to be thankful, and as the 2018 season comes to an end, we keep those who are still recovering from the 2017 storms in our thoughts and prayers those as they go through the rebuilding process.”
Richardson thanked all residents and businesses for being vigilant and ready to take action should that have been necessary in the hurricane season. “May you and your family safely enjoy the upcoming holiday season,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to all entities and stakeholders of the Disaster Management Organisation. “I truly appreciate your tireless efforts to keep our island safe and secure. I look forward to building on the foundation we have laid as we continue to strengthen the capacity of our Emergency Response apparatus.”
The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) was activated on two occasions during the season. At the beginning of July, the EOC met several times to monitor and prepare for the possible threat of Hurricane Beryl, and in September for Hurricane Isaac. Both hurricanes, in the end, did not pose a direct threat to the country which is still reeling from the impacts of Irma and Maria in September 2017.
The disaster management system comprises 10 Emergency Support Functions representing the seven government ministries. They were prepared as much as possible if the country was confronted with a weather system.
Pre-season planning, a public awareness campaign, and the annual training with the Royal Dutch Marines HUREX in June were all part of the hurricane season preparedness.
According to the United States National Hurricane Center, 2018 was the fourth consecutive year that hurricane activity began prior to the official June 1 start of the season, with Tropical Storm Alberto forming on May 25.
The Atlantic hurricane season ended with 15 named storms. Eight named storms became hurricanes and two of those were major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). An average season has 12 named storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
The season will be remembered most for Hurricanes Florence and Michael, which caused significant damage along the Southern and Eastern United States.
The 2018 season was the first since 2008 to have four named storms active at the same time (Florence, Helene, Isaac and Joyce).
The names for storm systems for the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season were Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine and Oscar.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83170-pm-is-thankful-country-spared-from-any-storm
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