Governor Richards thanks populace for attentiveness during the passing of TS Erika
Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Governor Franklyn Richards would like to commend residents for being attentive to weather reports and official information that was released during the passing of Tropical Storm Erika.
At 5.00pm a tropical storm warning was lifted for St. Maarten as Erika has weakened to a Tropical Depression. The Netherlands Antilles & Aruba Weather Service has also discontinued the Small Craft warning but maintains a Small Craft Advisory for local waters until further notice.
The anticipated rain and winds from Tropical Storm Erika did not materialize even though the system passed approximately 80 miles South of St. Maarten on Thursday. Weather systems change suddenly and what is forecasted and anticipated at times doesn’t actually take place.
Governor Franklyn Richards ordered all schools closed Thursday as a precautionary measure due to the anticipated change in weather conditions. Normal school activities are to resume on Friday.
"It is better to be prepared than to be sorry. I am pleased with the actions and attentiveness of the community before and during the passing of Tropical Storm Erika. Once again for this season we have been lucky, and therefore it is very important that the populace continue to maintain a state of readiness in case we face another storm/hurricane threat.
"Our actions taken as an EOC were appropriate and well measured against the available information from the weather experts. Other islands in the North Eastern Caribbean took similar actions such as the closure of schools. There were also some disruption to flight schedules and some businesses remained closed. In Antigua & Barbuda, the emergency management coordinators opened hurricane shelters in four different communities.
"I would like to thank the Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) of our disaster management system, who did an exceptional job in making sure that national preparations were at a state of readiness for any eventuality.
"The populace can rest assure that this type of readiness will be maintained during the rest of the season by the ESFs, and it is also expected that residents maintain a similar readiness. Remember the theme of the Office of Disaster Management & Preparedness that ‘it only takes one,’ Governor Richards told the Government Information Service (GIS) on Thursday.
For official weather information during the hurricane season, check out the Netherlands Antilles & Aruba Weather Service website: www.meteo.an