Premier urges safety first for TS Ernesto
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley issued a message yesterday, August 13, urging residents to prioritise safety as they finalised storm preparations.
“I trust and expect that you all are activating your storm plans and are finalising any storm preparations by this evening,” he encouraged residents.
Government offices are closed today, Wednesday, August 14, after Tropical Storm Ernesto passed south of the BVI overnight, bringing rough seas and strong winds to the territory. The National Emergency Operations Centre was activated to monitor the situation closely.
The BVI is also under a flash flood watch, with predictions of four to six inches of rain. A storm surge of up to three feet was expected along the coast, with seas reaching 10 feet offshore. The territory is still being impacted by strong winds and rain so no detailed information on any damage to the territory is known at this time.
“Forecasters are relatively certain that tropical storm conditions such as rough seas and winds of up to 60 miles per hour will affect at least some of the territory,” Dr Wheatley warned in his initial message.
In the meantime, the Premier praised public officers and others who worked hard to prepare the territory for the storm. “Final pre-storm activities such as the breakdown of the Emancipation Festival Village grounds, clearance of gullies, and protection of public assets were finalised,” he said.
Residents were advised to stay informed by following updates from the Department of Disaster Management (DDM). The DDM Alert App allows users to receive real-time safety updates and the all-clear message after the storm has passed.
“I also encourage us to give assistance to vulnerable members of our community as needed. Let us be our brother and sister’s keeper,” Dr Wheatley added.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
Safety! He need to do what he was elected for
am sorry to inform you my friend / but he is doing what he was do just that , it’s called sweet talk , so all he is doing is , doing a polishing job on the words so we will swallow everything and die laughing
About 24 hours now and no electricity in district 7 why? This area didn’t had damages except pari area and this was fixed early today. So what’s going on?
The Premier’s responsibility to tell grown A%% folks about a TS. Use your own damn common sense as adults. You guys knew in advance that a TS was on the way and were responsible for preparing for your own safety.
Where did he get the deckchair suit?
N O Y D B. S B S D N. Crack the code and you will get the answer to the question you asked.
If only you had prioritise our safety instead of spending money on parties and flights
Did the wall built at the high school stop storms? If resident help clear their own land and stop dumping stuff all over the drains would not have so much debris. Persons can clean their own yard front of bushes and not wait on the government to do it.
Why are you people coming down on the Premier about the storm. We were all responsible to prepare for our own safety during the storm. Stop blaming and expecting everything from the Government. Seems like if you guys run out of bathroom tissue or dish washing liquid you expect the Government to provide it for you.