Some residents not taking Tropical Storm Karen seriously

Some residents of the British Virgin Islands have expressed that they are not taking the possible threat of Tropical Storm Karen — which is forecast to impact the territory on Tuesday, September 24 — too seriously.

When BVI News roved the main island of Tortola to get the reaction of persons about the impending storm, some said they still have preparations in place from Hurricane Jerry and are therefore already equipped for Karen. However, these residents said they believe the tropical storm will have no major impact on the territory.

One local businesswoman from Huttmans Ghut said while she is prepared, she is taking Tropical Storm Karen as seriously as she should.

“I would say I am relatively prepared mainly because Jerry was supposed to pass last week, so I had already bought can foods, and dry goods and stuff and water in preparation for Jerry and I still have them so I don’t plan on doing any extra shopping,” she stated.

She further said, “I’m a bit anxious because of post-Irma stress. But still, with the rapid formation of Karen right after, we had the miss with Jerry, I feel like I haven’t taken it as seriously as I should because I keep feeling like they’re always coming but then they never do.”

Not a big deal

Another resident from Huttmans Ghut who only identified herself as Desirae said she was tired of what she described as premature forecasting.

“I find that our local forecasters are trying their best. They have improved on their marketing and information, they give us coordinates. However, this early forecasting is just giving people anxiety,” Desirae stated.

She said she was only made aware of Tropical Karen after overhearing a conversation and hoped to purchase a few preparatory items from the supermarket since she had not stocked up for Hurricane Jerry.

“I’m not taking it as a big deal. This will pass within just a few hours. It’s just a tropical storm. But I will still try to prepare and I will be trusting in the Lord,” Desirae said.

Not stressing

Meanwhile, a female Bellevue resident also expressed that she was not overly concerned about the passage of Karen.

“To be honest, I did not do much of anything for Jerry. I did nothing at all. The most I did was close my windows. But as it relates to Karen, I know they say that we are right in the cone of it so we are expected to get some heavy rain and stuff so I guess I’ll try to get some sandbags. But I’m not stressing, I’m not too worried.”

Not much can be done

A female teacher from the Valley in Virgin Gorda also shared similar sentiments. She said while she believes the weather system is ‘a big deal’, she is not taking it as serious since there’s nothing much she can do.

“There isn’t much that I guess I can do to prepare other than tell the people I live with what to do and living with my parents they’re basically like, ‘whatever happens, happens’. And then they’ll do whatever it takes after to take care of the ‘whatever’ that happens.”

Never take a storm for granted

One male resident from Sage Mountain, however, said his experience from the 2017 hurricanes has taught him to never take any kind of storm for granted.

“After what we’ve been through, I’m not taking no chances when it comes to tropical storms, hurricanes one, two or three. Not after what we’ve been through. I’m making sure that I am well prepared. I have solar panels, I have battery backup, I have water and my whole cupboard full of food,” he stated.

He further said: “I done stock up already and my landlord came down and bar up all the windows and doors and secure where it was leaking last time, so I done prepared. I’m not taking down the stuff he put up, I’m going to leave it there because you never know what Karen would bring. It’s still too early to tell if she would turn into a hurricane or not.”

Tropical storm Karen is the second weather system forecast to impact the territory in the last few days. Hurricane Jerry was the first and resulted in a public sector shut down on Friday September 20. However, the system had no impact on the territory.