Hazards Take Control Tornado By NEMO Saint Lucia

Hazards: Take Control Tornado By NEMO Saint Lucia

DISASTER RISKS FACED BY THE CARIBBEAN T U O P P S Source: Primer Series by the Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction EARTHQUAKES FIRES GOAL: REDUCE DISASTER RISK DEVELOP POLICIES FOR ACTIONS HAVING HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR THE CARIBBEAN REGION O D A N R O T R E T A W HURRICANES VOLCANOES & FLOODS LANDSLIDES MEDICAL EMERGENCIES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Hazard: Tornado & Water Spout Date Event Country 23 June, 2010 29 March, 2010 Water spout Tornado Anguilla Bahamas 9 August, 2009 13 July, 2008 10 January, 2007 5 May, 2005 11 April, 2005 Tornado Water spout Tornado Trinidad Barbados St Thomas Antigua Tornado Aruba 18 September, 2004 1990 s Comment 4 dead Damage to Sea port Structural damage to a Church in All Saints - Water spout Saint Lucia -

Hazard: Tornado • Tornadoes appear as a rotating funnel-shaped cloud, spinning rapidly, and extending toward the earth from the base of a thunderstorm accompanied by lightning, hail and damaging winds. • Tornadoes may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up.

Hazard: Water Spout • A waterspout is a tornado like whirlwind occurring over water that can move inland near the body of water where it occurs. The whirling wind and water in a waterspout can reach high speeds and cause severe damage. Critical facilities and vessels at or near the ocean are subject to damage from waterspouts.

Categories The strength of a tornado is measured using a system called the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

Preparing for Tornado/Water Spout THE KEY IS: 1) KNOW THE DISASTER HISTORY OF YOUR REGION 2) KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY

Preparing for Tornado/Water Spout • • • Discuss the hazard with your family. Prepare a disaster plan. Know the safe zones. Prepare an evacuation plan. Don’t forget your pets!

Preparing for Tornado/Water Spout • Hardware [lumber, plywood, nails, roped, wires, plastic sheeting, sandbags] • • Papers [Passport, ID, Insurance, Mortgage, Wills] Medicines and First Aid Supplies Baby Supplies Animal Supplies

Preparing for Tornado/Water Spout Building Code November 30, 1999 - The Ministry of Planning says a National Building Code for St. Lucia - three years in the making is about to come to fruition. The development of the code has been further prompted by an increase is the destructive nature of natural disasters in recent times, which has been further exacerbated by spontaneous developments in several disaster prone areas of the country. As of April 2010 the Building Code has not been adopted

Preparing for Tornado/Water Spout ? n o “It is generally accepted that disaster 0 0 mitigation pays. For example, the. 1 $ World Bank and United States r u Geological Survey once calculated o y that economic losses worldwide d n from natural disasters during the e p s by $280 1990 s could be reduced u billion if $30 billion o were invested y in disaster mitigation and li l w preparedness — a ratio of $7 saved t a for every h $1 spent. ” W Twigg 2001, p. 3.

Preparing for Tornado/Water Spout I want to urge you to act now in getting the insured household percentage up from 35%. I want to challenge you to strive at a 60% figure for this year, no matter how painful the financial cost Dr. Kenny D. Anthony Prime Minister of Saint Lucia January 16, 2005

Preparing for Tornado/Water Spout The four components of an early warning system: 1. Monitor the hazard; 2. Quantify the hazard; 3. A disaster plan to address the hazard; [DRAFT National Tornado Contingency Plan, Home Evacuation Plan] 4. Effective communications for warning.

Early Warning Systems A tornado warning is an alert issued by government weather services to warn an area that a tornado may be imminent. It can be issued after either a tornado or funnel cloud has already been spotted, or if there are radar indications that a tornado may be possible. http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Tornado_warning

What to do? …the report of possible tornado activity [in the Bahamas] left some people wondering what to do in the event of a tornado. … Deputy Director of Meteorology Basil Dean had some advice in this regard…

What to do? "We advise people to remain indoors and stay away from windows, and if a tornado does erupt you would want to get into a small room that is in the centre of your home or workplace, " he said.

What to do? Evacuation may be necessary depending on the severity of the waterspout and the availability of shelters on site. Take the same precautions within buildings as with hurricanes and high winds.

EFFECTS http: //www. thebahamasweekly. com/publish/grand-bahamas/Tornado_at_the_Container_Port 10247. shtml

EFFECTS Funnel clouds visible behind the Freeport Container Port. http: //www. bahamaislandsinfo. com/index. php? view=article&id=5234%3 Agrand-bahama-hit-bytornadoes&option=com_content&Itemid=145

EFFECTS http: //www. thebahamasweekly. com/publish/grand-bahamas/Tornado_at_the_Container_Port 10247. shtml

EFFECTS http: //www. bahamaislandsinfo. com/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=5237: photos-show-damage-to-container-port-craneand-residences-following-tornado-strike&catid=33: News%20&%20 Info%20 about%20 Grand%20 Bahama&Itemid=146

EFFECTS http: //tasteofgrandbahama. blogspot. com/2010_03_01_archive. html By Lyndah Wells

ALL CLEAR • When the all clear is given get out of your shelter fast!!! It may have been damaged by the system and no longer a safe place to be. • Check to see if the building has been damaged in any way. • If the building is damaged do not return. Seek a safer place to be.

Online Resources National Emergency Management Plan http: //stlucia. gov. lc/nemp Family Disaster Plan http: //www. cdera. org/doccentre/familyplan. html Family Evacuation Plan http: //stlucia. gov. lc/nemp/plans/Evac. Template. doc Family Disaster Supplies List http: //www. stlucia. gov. lc/docs/nemo/Family. Disaster. Suppli es. Calendar. pdf