As if some of us here in St. Kitts-Nevis needed a gentle reminder, here came the recent passage of Tropical Storm Phillipe giving us a slight brush with no major damage to report on. So in a timely follow-up to last week’s editorial, came the weather disturbance to remind us to take preparations during the hurricane season very seriously.
The use of social media provides an opportunity for us to see different angles of the disastrous impact of hurricanes and tropical storms at home throughout the region and further abroad. Most recently, looking around at other neighbouring islands with the passage of Tropical Storm Phillipe, many of us of course realize that indeed we could have been worse.
And while we can comfortably count our blessings in this regard, we have to also face the fact that we need to ensure that we prepare properly for any stormy weather conditions. We have seen the heavy flood waters in Dominica and Antigua and while many residents on St.
Kitts and Nevis said they wanted or expected more rainfall throughout the country because ‘we need the rain’, the saying goes ‘Be careful what you wish for’ comes to mind. On another note, to those thrill seekers who go sightseeing after or during a storm, to capture on their smartphones the flood water and destroyed property to
share about social media, caution must be taken that such
activity can be quite hazardous. Again, we of this
publication, hereby further caution residents to prepare for safety during this hurricane
season and all others to follow.
