By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

A NATIONAL Emergency Management Agency official yesterday said in hindsight, there was nothing NEMA could have done differently during the passage of Hurricane Joaquin despite mounting criticisms over NEMA’s handling of the storm and response time to the affected islands.

During a press briefing yesterday, NEMA’s First Assistant Secretary Chrystal Glinton said everyone on the disaster preparedness committee did their jobs as they had been trained to do all year.

However, she admitted to reporters that NEMA officials did not go into the southern and central islands immediately following the monster storm, saying that the focus was on ensuring that NEMA assessors would be free from danger as they carried out initial assessments.

Hurricane Joaquin beat down on the central and southern Bahamas more than a week ago, leaving behind damage in Acklins, San Salvador, Crooked Island, Long Island, Rum Cay and Long Cay. Approximately 5,000 people were affected by the category four storm.

“Persons have mentioned that we didn’t go out initially,” Ms Glinton said, “but we could not because we had to ensure that the airports were safe for us to go out.

“We didn’t wish to have our assessors…there were no fatalities and then when we sent out our assessors, there (would be) fatalities. NEMA did our job. All of our persons on the ground from the emergency support function group they are all professionals and they went out and did all the assessments like they were mandated to do.”

Asked by a reporter if anything could have been done differently, she said: “No. I can honestly stand here and say no, in my opinion. I have a director. But we speak as one body, all of us.”

She added: “All of us did our jobs and that is what we deal with… preparedness. We wouldn’t have done anything any different. That’s the reason we do the preparedness in advance prior to the storm. We deal with nothing but training in here year round.”

Her statement came days after Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray, also the member of Parliament for the MICAL constituency, said “heads should roll” over some agencies’ handling of the storm. Mr Gray also suggested that NEMA and the Department of Meteorology fell down on the job, saying they were “seemingly caught off guard.”

Last week, it was revealed that most of the shelters on the islands impacted by the storm were not open. According to information from NEMA, none of Acklins six shelters were open at the time while only two of Crooked Island’s seven shelters were open. Rum Cay’s only shelter was open, however that building and the shelters in Crooked Island were “compromised,” forcing residents to seek refuge in other structures.

In Long Island, one of 10 shelters was open and three of five were open on San Salvador.

Medical assistance

Meanwhile, Marcelle Johnson, the director of nursing at the Ministry of Health, said the ministry has been challenged with providing teams since the passing of Hurricane Joaquin. However, she said, more than two dozen health professionals, including doctors have been dispatched to several islands.

These nurses and doctors will serve the affected islands for periods of two to seven days and return to the capital for rest while new personnel is sent out.

She said arrangements are now being made for mental health teams to start counselling members of the affected communities and a team of two psychologists and one psychiatrist is expected to soon be deployed to Long Island.

She added that counselling will be available for all residents in the affected areas.

Medical supplies, including vaccines and equipment, have been sent to all southern and central islands since last week.

Ms Johnson said medical officials are finding a high number of skin rashes as well as people with chronic conditions who lost their medication during the storm.

Potable Water

According to Robert Deal, deputy general manager at the Water and Sewerage Corporation, teams have been sent to all the affected islands and are working around the clock to ensure that residents have water, which is safe to use.

“Following the passage of Hurricane Joaquin, on Sunday, October 4, the corporation sent out dispatched teams to San Salvador, Long Island, Crooked Island, Long Cay and Acklins. Those teams went in to provide immediate disaster assessments and also to assist with emergency repairs and restoring our supplies in those islands.”

In San Salvador, Water and Sewerage resumed normal water supply operations by the use of a standby generator and later got confirmation from BEC that the power supply has been fully restored to the plant in Cockburn Town.

He said at this moment water is being supplied to all of the residents, and teams on the island are actively and thoroughly reviewing the distribution systems to ensure that if there are any visible leaks they can be rapidly addressed.

Long Island’s southern desalination plant was quickly restored, with normal water operations restored last week.

Further south in Deadman’s Cay water was restored using a standby generator. That remains in operation at this time.

In Crooked Island and Long cay limited supply was restored using a standby generator.

Environmental Health

Assistant Director of the Department of Environmental Health Andrew Thompson said there have been two separate teams sent out to date - 13 persons in total to all parts of Long Island.

An additional six persons were also sent to Crooked Island and five to Acklins. There have also been two officers sent to Rum Cay and four to San Salvador. These teams will be rotated every two weeks.

“We commenced vector control treatment as you might be aware and our approach is both to control the adults and the aquatic stages of the larvae in the standing water. Right at this moment there would be significant pest mosquitoes coming off the waters because it is salt water mixed with fresh water so you are going to have a lot of breeding.

“The best control at this time is to turn those containers down.”

The department is also looking at solid waste issues and recommends the separation of different waste objects. For meats and dead animals on the island they recommend burning and burial.

The Department of Social Services has dispatched a total of 25 social workers to all islands. BTC officials have also said that for the most part, land lines on all affected islands have been restored. However, he said, 38 per cent of the cellular customers in the country remain without service.