Fire Chief and National Disaster Coordinator of the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) Clive Richardson, is calling on residents and the business community to remain vigilant and prepared as the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season heats up.
The Atlantic currently has major category four Hurricane Fiona, Tropical Storm Gaston (located near the Azores in the
north Atlantic Ocean), and three other systems are currently being monitored by the National Hurricane Center out of
Miami, Florida.
None of the aforementioned systems pose a direct threat to Sint Maarten.
Fiona – which passed Sint Maarten last week as a Tropical Storm – is the season’s first major Category 4 hurricane
which is forecasted to pass approximately 100 miles to the west of Bermuda early Friday morning.
In the meantime, the Cayman Islands are being warned of potential severe weather coming its way within the next five
days. A strong tropical wave which entered the Caribbean Sea could develop into the next named storm.
The remaining names for the hurricane season are Hermine, Ian, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Martin, Nicole, Owen, Paula, Richard,
Shary, Tobias, Virginie, and Walter.
Residents and the business community are advised to continue to pay keen attention to weather reports in the
coming weeks in order to be able to take the appropriate action when called upon to do so by the ODM/Emergency
Operations Center (EOC).
National Disaster Coordinator Richardson would like to thank the general public for adhering to the rules, regulations, and advice from the authorities that were put in place during the passing of Tropical Storm Fiona to safeguard life and
property, and looks forward to their continued cooperation in the future.
The community is urged to learn more about hurricane hazards and how to prepare for a storm/hurricane strike by
visiting the Government website:
www.sintmaartengov.org/hurricane where you will be able to download your “Hurricane Season Readiness Guide’ and
“Hurricane Tracking Chart.”