THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, October 4, 2016, PAGE 3 THIS water depot saw a increase in customers as people stocked up ahead of the storm. Photos: Tim Clarke
A CAR carrying wooden boarding to protect a home as Hurricane Matthew approaches.
NEMA BEGINS EVACUATIONS FROM PAGE ONE
LPIA TO CLOSE ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THE Lynden Pindling International Airport will close at 2pm on Wednesday because of Hurricane Matthew. According to a statement from Bahamasair, the national flag carrier, the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) announced the impending closure. As a result of this closure Bahamasair will operate as following: Tuesday, October 4, flight 377 to San Salvador will op-
erate at 11am. There will be no flights to San Salvador on Wednesday, October 5. On Wednesday, all morning flights to Florida will operate as scheduled. Flight 329 to Freeport, Grand Bahama will operate at 9am while flight 103 to Ft Lauderdale will operate at 10.30am. Persons affected as a result of Hurricane Matthew to and from these destinations can contact the Reservations Department to
make alternate travel plans, the airline said. Passengers will be accommodated without a change of itinerary fee. Resumption of service to the Family Islands and Florida is predicated on the all clear being given by the respective agencies. A further update will be provided - via radio and also posted to Bahamasair. com - as new information becomes available, the airline said.
ALL SCHOOLS IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS TO CLOSE ON WEDNESDAY ALL schools in the northwest Bahamas will be closed on Wednesday as a result of Hurricane Matthew, the Ministry of Education announced yesterday. Islands in the northwest include: Abaco, Andros, the Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama and New Providence. No staff or students should report to school on Wednesday. The ministry said that further updates and notifications on the reopening of schools will be provided as soon as the “all clear” is given by authorities. Schools in the southeast and central Bahamas will remain closed until further
notice. This includes Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins, Ragged Island, Long Island, Cat Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador and Exuma. The ministry urged residents to stay informed by visiting its social media platforms: Facebook - Ministry of Education, Bahamas; Twitter: BahamasMoest and Instagram: ministryofeducationbahamas. The ministry added that there are individuals falsifying documents regarding school closures. As a result all official announcements will be made on the above-named platforms.
tie, while speaking at an emergency press briefing at the Cabinet Office, implored Bahamians to take the massive category four storm seriously. Mr Christie said his government moved those considered “vulnerable” from the threat lines of the storm, including residents that are sick, elderly and young. He said the government had been able to, up to press time, orchestrate the removal of residents from the Crooked Island and Acklins area; while also setting in motion plans to remove some residents from Long Island. “We have been able to have an aircraft go in, and an aircraft move people out of places like Acklins and Crooked Island and most certainly we have made plans for the same thing happening in Long Island,” Mr Christie said. He added: “But wherever there may be vulnerable people, the intention of the government is to be able to put in place a plan that would enable them to come out to safer destinations within the Bahamas.” According to figures from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and confirmed by respective island administrators, roughly 23 persons were airlifted out of Crooked Island at 9am Monday. Francita Neely, island administrator in Crooked Island, said officials there spent Monday going door to door ensuring that those residents remaining on the island had the necessary supplies to “get through” Matthew. “We were trying to get it all done today. Plywood sheets are up, facilities are being secured and we are doing all we can. There are still some cases we are working, but for the most part, I think we are ready,” said Ms Neely. “All of us here remember Joaquin, so we are all doing what we can to ensure that our properties and houses are secured,” she added. Ms Neely said she held off of calling for a complete evacuation of Crooked Island because she was of the view that this would prove pointless, as all of the destinations for fleeing residents were also in the forecast track of Matthew. “I felt as if that call should have been left up to the residents because in a situation like this, there is no best answer here.” Roughly 250 people are said to still be on the island. Many are reported to be in homes that are secured, or near NEMA certified and monitored storm shelters. Over in Acklins, it was said that 83 persons attempted to leave the island as a part of evacuation efforts yesterday. Of that number, around 23 persons were asked to await a second flight due to a lack of seats. Acklins Island Administrator Chrisfield
Johnson said those left were informed that officials here in New Providence were arranging a second flight. Mr Johnson also said minor issues were uncovered with the hurricane shelter identified for the Snug Corner settlement - Snug Corner Primary School. He said it was determined by community leaders that the building sat too near to the sea. “There was some issues with that set up, therefore we opted to go with the Community Centre in Spring Point,” Mr Johnson said. Acklins has a population of roughly 400 persons. Residents on the island are said to be apprehensive, and in some cases fearful as Matthew approaches. A group of residents, said to be around 30, was airlifted from Mayaguana to Exuma on Monday around noon. That group was expected to arrive in Nassau yesterday evening. Residents in Ragged Island, Long Cay and Samana Cay in particular, have been instructed to move to the more developed islands nearby. With respect to Long Island, one of the islands mentioned by Prime Minister Christie on Monday, officials there were still eagerly awaiting final details on evacuation flights. Long Island MP Loretta Butler Turner told The Tribune she was informed that discussions were held in Cabinet over a timeline for evacuations. Stocking shelters with more food items and making them ready to receive persons were also discussed, she said. Mrs Butler-Turner said she also received assurances on the transportation of persons to shelters, availability of fuel on the island, an extra social worker for the island, security of government building and concerns about flooding. On Sunday, Long Island Administrator Terrece Bootle-Bethel told The Tribune that residents there were taking warnings very seriously. She noted at the time that there was a level of nervousness among Long Islanders, as the fear over Joaquin and what it did has left many of them scarred. She stated: “We are working, and as in the nature of these things, no one can pick when the time is best. “This comes at a time when we are still recovering from last year and there remains some challenges.” She made note of drainage issues in Scrub Hill, Long Island, an area that proved critical during Joaquin. Mrs Butler-Turner raised the matter on Monday, with her calling a lack of repairs in this matter “a problem” heading into Matthew.
HURRICANE SHOPPING RUSH ‘ROUGH LIKE CHRISTMAS’
SPARSE shelves in a supermarket yesterday, after a rush for products ahead of the storm. Photo: Kenva Hunter
FROM PAGE ONE
Salvador, and the Exumas between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. New Providence is expected to feel storm conditions Wednesday afternoon. On the forecasted track, the centre of Matthew is expected to move near eastern Cuba late today and move near or over portions of the southeast and Central Bahamas tonight and Wednesday.
stores throughout the capital – particularly on Saturday and then again on Sunday, as residents sought to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Matthew. “Saturday was rough like Christmas and Sunday was busy, and I imagine today and Tuesday will be the same,” Mr Roberts told The Tribune when contacted yesterday. “They were shopping Friday afternoon, it was very rushed on Saturday and Sunday and I imagine that they will be picking up their odds and ends and finishing their shopping today and tomorrow so that they’ll be ready.” When asked if his chain of stores plans to stay open later than usual over the next 36 hours to accommodate the increased customer traffic, Mr Roberts said it all depends on the weather and if his employees might face any difficulties in returning to their respective homes. “…We will stay open as long as we can give our staff a safe passage home,” he said. “Once we decide that our staff need that safety to get home, we have to, whether we’re busy or not, we close to let our staff get home safely.” Lauren Wong, operations manager of Chelsea’s Choice Water, said yesterday was the busiest day Chelsea’s Choice has had since news of Hurricane Matthew’s pending arrival broke. She said customers were present at the Abundant Life Road warehouse since 5am yesterday - two hours before operations commenced. When The Tribune arrived at Chelsea’s Choice
around midday yesterday, a queue of what officials estimated to be about 60 cars could be seen extending from the company’s parking lot. That number continued to increase even after The Tribune left. However, Ms Wong said the company did not face any difficulties in serving all of its customers. “We as a company, historically always have reserves for incidents and events like these, so we’re not really shuffling around or inundated with orders from customers,” she said. “So in terms of our preparedness, internally we try to make sure we have sufficient reserves for the demand that comes with natural disasters like this, so hopefully it won’t be too bad.” Shane Stubbs, general manager of Meat Max & Groceries on Carmichael Road, said while the past few days have been busy, Saturday night and Sunday were the busiest of all. “Saturday was busy, but Sunday was crazy,” he said. “From we opened until we closed. We were opened up pretty late. We normally close about 6.45pm, but we closed about 7.30, quarter to 8. So we were busy straight through, all day Sunday.” When asked what the company plans to do over the next 36 hours as the storm nears, he said: “We’re trying to stay open as late as possible to accommodate our customers.” Meanwhile, officials at Courtesy Supermarkets said they have not experienced the heavy volume of customer traffic like their counterparts, but said that would likely change over
the next 24 hours. “Things are pretty much at a normal pace,” one store manager said. “People aren’t really reacting as yet. I guess everybody is still waiting to see if the storm is actually going to come here
or not.” According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Matthew is expected to bring severe flooding and heavy rainfall. Residents in Inagua, Mayaguana, Crooked Is-
land, Acklins, Ragged Island, Long Cay, Samana Cay are expected to feel effects from the hurricane today. Hurricane conditions are expected in Long Island, Cat Island, Rum Cay, San