Earth Today | Hurricane hunter, Golf View Hotel keep spotlight on Melissa recovery efforts

NOTED HURRICANE Hunter, Josh Morgerman, visited Jamaica recently and partnered with the Golf View Hotel to host a fireside chat as a part of a bid to keep international attention on hurricane recovery efforts in the island, especially in the most hard-hit parishes of St Elizabeth and Westmoreland.

“Usually I don’t go back to countries after a hurricane – I have done that once before when the Philippines were hit a few years ago – but having been through the crème de la crème of hurricanes here in Jamaica and seeing the devastation and resilience of the Jamaican people, I felt that I had to do a bit more,” Morgerman said at a fireside chat hosted by at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, Manchester recently.

“My mission is to keep the story alive in the United States. So, I am doing that on Weather Nation – where the Jamaican diaspora and others can be kept abreast,” he said.

Morgerman explained that he had returned to see what was happening on the ground with relief efforts and to use his international platforms to keep attention on the island.

“Recovery takes time and much effort, but if persons do not see what is happening – especially internationally – they will forget, and relief funding will dwindle. So, I am doing my part to keep it out there,” he told the full room at the fireside chat that turned out for his presentation on lessons learnt from category 5 Hurricane Melissa.

In a riveting presentation, he recounted the Melissa experience which he rode out in arguably the hardest hit parish of St. Elizabeth. While showing excerpts of the experience from his film, which is on YouTube, he indicated that from his observations, wooden structures were the most damaged.

“Wood frame structures were no match for Melissa … Rooves are also a major vulnerability. Persons need to rethink roofs – make hurricane resistant roofs the new religion,” he noted, adding that concrete roofs were probably the best options for withstanding hurricanes.

Morgerman added that pre-hurricane warnings were adequate and frequent by the Meteorological Office, but still many persons did not adequately prepare for the hurricane.

“Many persons were still sceptical if the hurricane was coming. But after Melissa, I don’t think believability will be a problem in Jamaica again during our lifetime,” he said.

Many members of the audience challenged this thought and indicated that after Jamaicans got over the “nine-day wonder” of Hurricane Melissa, it would be back to the scepticism.

A recommendation emerged from the discussions that a national public education campaign should be launched to address Hurricane Preparation and Jamaicans being more responsive to early warnings.

Co-owner of Golf View Hotel, Kemilee Mclymont-Campbell, supported the call for the campaign and indicated that the hotel was ready to play its part.

“We are hosting this fireside chat because we want to play our part in ensuring that as a country we are ready to respond to and be resilient to recovery from disasters,” she said.

“There is much value in sharing experiences and exploring partnerships for recovery,” Mclymont-Campbell added.