Batten down the hatches

THE HURRICANE season officially starts next month but history has shown these storms have little regard for planning, sometimes appearing even earlier than the designated June starting point. Though nature may be impossible to control - a matter worsened by the climate emergency - there are things we can do to prepare as much as possible and to mitigate risk.

In this light, it was reassuring to see Government devote time this week at the daily covid19 media briefing to highlight steps being taken to prepare.

The heightened 2020 hurricane season comes under the shadow of the most catastrophic economic collapse since the Great Depression and amid all of the uncertainties triggered by covid19. But we know enough to understand that it cannot be a case of business as usual.

In many ways, the virus and the state of the global economy have made us even more vulnerable to the whims and fancies of Mother Nature. Instead of cutting back on disaster preparedness, we need to bulk up the response.

The lockdown has been a great opportunity for necessary repairs to be conducted on the road and drainage network, though we are mindful that economic pressures have reduced the leeway of local government corporations and ministries.

Part of the emergency spending for the crisis must be diverted to ensuring rivers and waterways are properly dredged, and to maintain efforts to clear the country of the garbage that chokes our drainage system.

Preparations must also involve envisioning the way we plan for mass evacuations and manage shelters. It’s not good enough to assume that shelters already have catered for the requisite social-distancing requirements.

Such requirements need to be bolstered by the design of adequate stations for screening and the formulation of contingency plans in relation to how persons will be transported to places of isolation should they need to be separated in the middle of an emergency. Do we really have enough shelters?

The good thing is having endured a first wave, we’ve gained experience and seen what works well and what does not. But our attention should also be turned to bracing for other challenges besides covid19, such as the seasonal problems that arise because of flooding, as well as the flu.

The need to batten down the hatches also means households have to take certain precautions, a matter which will be a challenge for some in the current economic climate and amid the existing guidelines against labour-intensive home repair. Those who are unable to effect needed reinforcements should ideally have access to grant assistance.

When the time comes, there will have to be efficient coordination of agencies to clear roads, rescue stranded residents, and respond to whatever challenges emerge. Having gained high marks for our management of covid19, let’s try to replicate that success in how we prepare for the coming storms.