Begin Looking at Your Hurricane Plans

As we mentioned, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season does not officially begin until the first of June. But early forecasts like the one coming out of Colorado State University provide an opportunity to review hurricane plans way in advance. Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon is advising the nation to do just that. He warns that those living along coastal Belize should especially put mitigating measures into place to reduce risks.

 

Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist, National Meteorological Service

“To mention at this point what level of preparations people should do is at this point you want to review your hurricane plan. We are still of course I believe about two months plus from the start of the hurricane season. We do know that you could have systems out season as well, but the official start is on June the first, so what we encourage our residents to always do is ensure that you are fine tuning those plans at the moment to know what measures you will take, whether you will need to evacuate, what measures you will need to take to reinforce your house to withstand at least a category two or three hurricane or even a major hurricane for that matter and also if you are able to afford insurance now is a good time to look at it because the prediction is going for an active season and as I mentioned before, that means there is a higher risk of one coming our way. So if you can afford insurance that is a good thing to look at and that type of thing nuh to ensure you are prepared for the event that sort of thing comes your way. In terms of any particular part of the country, we do know that our entire coastline is vulnerable to hurricanes. There is no doubt about it. If you are way down south, Punta Gorda and below, it is rare that you can any sort of direct landfall. We do know that you have secondary effects from systems making landfall in Central America, which includes excessive rainfall. So to summarize, there is no particular location on the coast of Belize that is exempt. It is important that all communities that are in the direct path of these systems prepare in advance and take measures to mitigate any possible impact from any possible landfall system this season.”