Advisory: We got weather comin’

As I write this post, a dull grey haze hangs over Paradise. There is no patch of blue in the sky. The Caribbean hurricane season is underway. People have been preparing for this challenge for days. Or years, depending on your point of view.

This morning, I got on a seaplane that was headed toward the hurricane path. The co-pilot promised a gusty ride, especially at take-off and landing as the winds whip up the water into high surf. Everyone appeared a bit nervous. The next announcement emptied the plane: flights are suspended for the rest of the day. No one wants to be far from home when you are looking at a hurricane.

Driving around the island, I saw the locals preparing for stormy weather. Shutters are up, traffic is down. There are no cruise ships in the harbor, shops and businesses are closed. Lines form outside food stores and ATM machines. I hear hammers at work as houses are boarded up. Power outages are expected later in the day. While the worst of the weather is expected tonight, a sense of isolation builds up as lines of communication break down: cell phone reception is patchy, the power has been going on and off throughout the day, everyone is hunkering down behind closed shutters. Occasional sirens break up the eerie calm between the gusts of wind.

The weather channels are providing constant updates-surf advisory for marine interests (that means get off the boats and tie up the vessels). I see a coast guard vehicle checking up on strays. Calm bays give rise to high surf as gusts of wind blow across the island. Trees bend at unnatural angles, windows and columns rattle with the howling winds. St Lucia lost all power last night as the Lesser Antilles took the brunt of the storm. A colleague in Jamaica tells me he is an avid storm watcher-that’s where the storm is headed over the weekend.

Churches held services (hurricane supplication days) earlier this month. The rescue agencies have rehearsed disaster scenarios and protocols. In event of a weather emergency, health personnel are expected to man the rescue stations. If torrential rain, downed power lines and mudslides block roads, it will be difficult to access emergency services. The bigger challenge is yet to come-the aftermath.

I am on call tonight. Despite all my years of work in this field, somehow tonight is different. Tonight, Mother Nature is in charge. More than ever before, tonight I feel the truth of the adage: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.