ANGUILLA--Hurricane preparedness advice and meetings with weather experts highlighted the attendance of two Anguillians at the National Hurricane Conference held recently in Orlando, Florida. Attending for Anguilla were Susan Hodge, Programme Officer for Community Outreach Preparedness and Education (COPE) and Daphne Armantrading, Emergency Administrative Officer from the Department of Disaster Management.
They reported that of particular interest were the sessions “Can communities become resilient to extreme hurricanes?” and the Rap Session for the Caribbean and Latin America, which highlighted impacts of the 2017 Season and the lessons learnt, as well as how to build back better to lessen the impacts of major hurricanes. They also attended a certificate course in Hurricane Readiness.
“The information gained has been invaluable as to how I can communicate productively with residents and visitors of Anguilla before, during and after the Hurricane Season. We need to have more detailed conversations as disaster preparedness is everyone’s business,” said Hodge. Armantrading highlighted the meeting with the weather experts and learning to understand exactly how the forecasts are made. She noted that there is activity inside and outside the forecast cone.
The participants were able to meet with Rick Knabb, Tropical Weather Expert at The Weather Channel, Daniel Brown, Senior Hurricane Specialist/Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the US National Hurricane Center and Craig Setzer, Meteorologist at CBS Channel 6 News.
Funding for their attendance was provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Government of Anguilla.
