What appears to be the first potential threat of the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season to the Northeast Caribbean (see related story) has appeared with Tropical Storm Erin, although early indications are that the system will pass well north of the local area.
Nevertheless, it may be a major cyclone by then, so this is definitely something to watch as the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS) also indicated. The Office of Disaster Management (ODM) had already warned in the Friday/Saturday edition that storm activity was expected to rise sharply later this month.
However, judging from Monday’s front page photo, it seems government itself and particularly the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI and/or its maintenance contractors don’t seem sufficiently aware of this. It showed a heavily overgrown section of the Rolandus Canal, used to pump water out of the Salt Pond – and by extension Fresh Pond via the floodgates at Illidge Road – into the sea at Great Bay when surface levels get too high, to prevent flooding.
The abundant sugar cane and water lilies look nice, but are likely to cause blockages when optimal run-off is needed in case of heavy rainfall. This comes on top of earlier reported issues with the related storm pumps and their housing.
Many old enough to do so no doubt remember how Philipsburg and its surroundings remained partially submerged for days after the impact of Hurricane Lenny in November 1999. To prevent a repeat it is essential that ditches, gutters, culverts, drains and the like are actively checked this week as Erin approaches.
Even if these were recently cleared, that can change quickly as the season progresses. Authorities need to stay on top of things in this regard.
