A little more than 14 months ago, when Hurricane Charley gave residents of the Cayman Islands a scare as it travelled in between Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands, not all responses to the threat were adequate.
Cayman residents were lucky with Charley in that it rapidly intensified into a major hurricane just after it left our area. Had that intensification happened a little earlier, all three of the Cayman Islands could have been severely impacted.
Charley served as an important dry run for what followed the next month, when Hurricane Ivan changed the way an entire generation will react to approaching storms.
This year, Cayman has already had close calls with major hurricanes Dennis, Emily and now Wilma. Thankfully, none of those potentially catastrophic hurricanes came close enough to any of the Cayman Islands to cause any significant damage.
But the threats were there, and for the most part, the responses from the government, the private sector and the residents themselves, matched the threat.
If practice makes perfect, the people of the Cayman Island have quickly become old pros at getting ready for hurricanes.
Wilma proved a big test to our preparedness skills. Although the storm system had lurked as an area of low pressure south of Jamaica for days, it didn’t form into a tropical depression until late Saturday afternoon.
However, despite it being the weekend, and the storm’s track and intensification projection being in great doubt, Cayman began its preparation for a hurricane.
Preparation always starts with information, and this is one area where Cayman is excelling.
Websites like the one operated by the Caymanian Compass keep residents and concerned loved ones overseas with updated on the latest developments and other media do the same.
The Government has become much better at disseminating storm information and even have a website of its own now at www.caymanprepared.ky.
The public sector is making sure its employees have enough time to prepare for an impending storm, and it is showing its ability to change operating hours on the fly as weather conditions dictate.
Residents, many who have kept storm shutters up the whole hurricane season, seem to be taking every hurricane threat seriously now, and are staying indoors when advised, and avoiding unwise activities like hurricane parties.
Some might say in hindsight that some of the responses have been an over-reaction, but as Hurricane Ivan taught us only too well, it’s better to error on the side of caution.
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