The most recent advisory has Tropical Dorian at 11.5N and 54.W or about 375 miles East-southeast of Barbados. The weather hunter is scheduled to examine the system at 8PM tonight- a firm decision will be made regarding the timing of the national shutdown soon after.
Feel free to use this space constructively to assist anyone search for information.
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The shut down only SEEMED unnecessary AFTER the passing
It is always better to be prepare for the worst than to be caught with your pants down.
@ John August 27, 2019 7:28 AM
“Janet was believe it or not a minor hurricane!!”
Janet was not a minor hurricane. It was small in size just like Gilbert and like Gilbert it was very intense. Janet was responsible for the Americans losing the only hurricane hunter aircraft to have ever been lost in a hurricane, As a matter of Janet was eventually clocked with wind speed approaching 200mph. As a result of the damage done by Janet in the Yucatan area, the Janet has been retired.
“Hurricane Janet was the most powerful tropical cyclone of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Janet was also the first named storm to have 1,000 deaths and the first Category 5 named storm to be retired. The eleventh tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and fourth major hurricane of the year,[nb 1] Janet formed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21. Moving westward across the Caribbean Sea, Janet fluctuated in intensity, but generally strengthened before reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 175 mph (282 km/h). The intense hurricane later made landfall at that intensity near Chetumal, Mexico on September 28. After weakening over the Yucatán Peninsula, it moved into the Bay of Campeche, where it slightly strengthened before making its final landfall near Veracruz on September 29. Janet quickly weakened over Mexico’s mountainous terrain before dissipating on September 30.
.Janet’s minimum barometric pressure, recorded in Chetumal, was at the time the second-lowest-recorded pressure on land associated with a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.Lowest pressure ≤ 914 mbar (hPa); 26.99 inHg
Hurricane Janet – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Hurricane_Janet
Hurricane Research Division
NOAA/OAR/Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
60th Anniversary of Navy Hurricane Hunter lost in storm
SEPTEMBER 25, 2015~ NOAAHRD
On the morning of September 26, 1955, a Navy Hurricane Hunter plane carrying out routine reconnaissance of Hurricane Janet in the Caribbean lost contact with its base. Subsequent search efforts turned up no sign of the plane or crew. Nine crewmen and two Canadian reporters on the plane were lost but the details of the crash will never be known.
Janet was first detected by commercial aircraft on the evening of Sept. 21st, 350 miles (560 km) east of Barbados. The Weather Bureau classified it as a tropical storm, but by the time it reached Barbados, a day later, it was a major hurricane. It hit Barbados with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/hr) causing considerable damage, collapsing buildings, leaving thousands homeless, and killing 38 people. The hurricane weakened as it passed between the islands of Grenada and Carriacou, but still managed to un-roof houses and kill 122 people. By Sept. 24th, Navy planes were having trouble locating an organized center to the storm, but then Janet began to rapidly re-intensify. As it skipped north of the Netherlands Antilles that evening, it was a major hurricane again. A reconnaissance flight on the night of the 25th reported frequent lightning and a well defined eyewall, signs of a strong, intensifying hurricane.
The following morning, the Navy reconnaissance flight designated Stormcloud Five departed from Guantanamo Naval Air Station and flew south some three hundred miles (500 km) to intercept Janet. At 8:30 AM the plane transmitted a message that they were beginning their first inbound leg at 700 feet. Several garbled broadcasts were heard later, but nothing distinguishable could be heard. In this era, radio transmissions from Hurricane Hunters often experienced interference from static caused by the heavy rainfall in the storm’s core. But by 11:30 AM the flight was deemed overdue to have radioed the end of their first leg and report a center fix. The Navy base was unable to contact the plane and search and rescue operations were begun. Despite extensive efforts over the next days, no evidence of the aircraft nor crew were ever found. This was the only reconnaissance flight into an Atlantic hurricane ever lost.
The subsequent reconnaissance mission estimated the winds were up to 160 mph (258 km/hr) and recommended future flights not attempt penetration but to carry out fixes by using radar. Janet passed over the Swan Islands, where a U.S. Weather Bureau station was located. Many of the buildings at the station began to collapse in the high winds and everyone took shelter in the Navy seismic station, the only concrete building on the main island. It was estimated that Janet’s maximum sustained winds were at 175 mph (280 km/hr), its peak value
Janet diminished only slightly and struck the Yucatan Peninsula a half day later, with winds down to 150 mph (240 km/hr). The Mexican towns of Chetumal and Xcalak were nearly destroyed with hundreds of people dead and few buildings left standing. Similar damage was done to Corozal Town in British Honduras (now Belize) to the south. The storm rapidly diminished in strength as it passed over the Peninsula. During a brief crossing of the Bay of Campeche, Janet failed to recover its organization, and it made final landfall south of Veracruz. It dissipated over the mountains to the west, but brought heavy rains causing rivers to overflow. Tampico and other coastal towns were flooded and hundreds of people killed in mudslides. In all, Janet killed over a thousand people and caused US$65 million in damages.
The above should put to rest the assertion by John. There was also a book in the National Public Library attesting to the above facts.
Correction : the name Janet was retired.
Where DID anyone MENTIONED anything about DELEGATING the responsibilities of the state to relatives, friends and neighbours? Or the MP or officials SHOULD NOT have checked upon the gentleman? No, they DID NOT, but YOU did.
So, you mentioning things others did not mention is part of the Bajan Condition?
And no one DISPUTED the fact that “it is the responsibility of a liberal democratic state (which differentiates us from Confucian ones) to look after the welfare of its citizens.”
What I saw was people highlighting alternative support systems, where there exists a COMBINATION of the state, relatives, friends, neighbours and NGOs, thereby contributing to a “caring society.” The local MP or officials not calling or visiting the elderly man can be seen as a “failure” of one component of the society. As such, the initial comment was silly, because we cannot (or should not) confine the definition of a “caring society” within the limits of receiving calls from politicians and bureaucrats.
How in the absence of a call from the MP or officials, the elderly gentleman’s relatives, friends and neighbours “looking out for him” and providing the necessary assistance, be interpreted as delegating the responsibilities of the state to them?
Is the “local MP” the “be all, end all” of a society when various social support mechanisms exist, such as NAB, RDC, UDC and the Welfare Department?
Are we saying the relatives, friends and neighbour should not provide our elderly with financial or medical assistance, because it’s the state’s responsibility to provide pensions and “free” health care? Should they leave an elderly woman at the bus stop or refuse to take her them anywhere, because it’s the state’s responsibility to provide “free” rides on TB buses? Should they not take care of the elderly, because it’s the state’s responsibility to provide senior citizens’ homes and district hospitals?
Then, why should we refer to parents offering to shelter neighbours during a hurricane…… after all, isn’t it the responsibility of the state to provide hurricane shelters?
“Much ado about nothing.”
I must join those who are offering praises and thanks to GOD that Barbados was spared and we did not have any injuries, fatalities or extensive damage to property or infrastructure.
What we should now do, is extend those prayers to our Caribbean neighbours and hope for the best for them as well.
@ David Bu
I am sure you are not surprised by the variety of post mortes. This is a game one can never win. The authorities made excellent decisions at each juncture. They are deserving of praise. There may be some kinks from which we can learn.
Janet was minor, it was only the south of Barbados that was affected significantly.
It was a hurricane, not a storm like Dorian.
Housing was substandard and easily destroyed.
But, the damage was small compared with the damage inflicted in previous hurricanes, principally, 1898, 1831 and 1780.
They were major catastrophes.
Grenada was devastated by Janet, its nutmeg trees had to be entirely replanted.
Gilbert passed Barbados as well, but far enough away that it caused little damage.
It then destroyed Jamaica.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Gilbert#Jamaica
It was apparent it was powerful from the sea.
Andrew likewise and it killed Miami!!
The sea is the most we knew of its passing.
… and Ivan which passed south, … and Irma, and Erika etc etc.
The tiny size and location of Barbados to the east of the chain makes it a difficult target to hit for hurricanes (or storms which is what Dorian was) forming in the Atlantic.
That’s why we are a water scarce country … unlike Dominica, Martinique Guadeloupe etc etc etc that are in the direct path of most hurricanes!!
Probability is they will get hit.
Probability is they will get the rainfall.
… but we do get hit, even with a glancing blow!!
@ robert lucas August 27, 2019 5:43 AM
I want to make one thing clear here:
The order of our Most Honourable Prime Minister to carry out a “shutdown” at 10 o’clock was right and good. We were very lucky because the storm could have turned into a hurricane before Barbados. Our Dear Prime Minister – once again – did everything right.
But this right decision must not be a free ticket for two days off for the civil servants. In times of national financial emergency, it should be self-evident for all civil servants to work on the lost time by working Saturdays and Sundays or on a public holiday. Our creditors don’t care why the growth just pauses.
Or do you believe that on the other islands hit by hurricanes in 2017, civil servants only work within the working hours allowed by the unions? It is an integral part of the Barbadian tragedy that many locals do not understand that the declaration of bankruptcy last year changed everything. The government has declared a state of financial emergency for which there is no constitutional standard. Our Prime Minister is therefore empowered to create new provisions here, such as, for example, extending working hours for civil servants in her own right, dismissing civil servants without cause and the like.
Bob your posts says it all- especially the one relating to swaying coconut trees and shelter for Bay Land people vividly describes my experiences as well us growing up in the same area ; i was calling my little girl to read your posts but she is in the outhouse many of which suffered due to the ferociousness of Hurricane Janet
@Dr. Lucas
Do we see same in Miami for example when a storm is approaching? There was a sense of urgency this time around the blogmaster has not witnessed. Obviously there are areas we will need to improve next time around.
THIS IS A VERY ASININE COMMENT
Preparing for the worst ?
@Tron
If your multiple prior posts on the low productivity of civil servants are accurate, 2 days off will not result in any change in output.
Robert Goren
That’s Hal Austin the former senior editor MO, egotist–shown up-bombast and sarcasm.
I am here struggling to process people complaining about being too cautious with a storm. It just reconfirms my theory of the pick-a-noise mindset on BU. One has even found a wait to conflate (you guessed it) tiefin with disaster preparedness. Egofowlism ain’t easy at all. Well done to all involved in the preparations, ably led by the PM….just doing her job.
Here is St. Lucia
https://www.stormcarib.com/reports/current/stlucia.shtml
… and Dominica
https://www.stormcarib.com/reports/current/dominica.shtml
Other islands here
I just saw the pictures of our government crew informing the population. Mia Mottley fashionable and dynamic as ever. At least the foreign investors now know that the government is serious about governing.
What a huge difference from the dark days before 2018, when the regime fled a storm to Florida or Canada and left the work to the bureaucrats.
A real captain is the last to leave the sinking ship.
Well done to all involved in the preparations, ably led by the PM….just doing her job.
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I am all for a stitch in time saves nine and it is better safe than sorry but the PM wore a cap while shepherding the after Dorian “PC”, but she removed Minister Abraham’s cap while he was providing his update. Minister Payne also wore a hat but his stayed put, what gives? Just doing her job?
This was a Gov’t run update, not one rep from private industry, no BL & P not even a ZR rep (and they are a major transportation component).
Just glad that there was no major damage or injury but the trotting out of various Ministers without any real contribution seemed to be a politicalization of a potential peril…..
Trust the BBs to get defensive.
The simple question remains.
What is the threshold for shutting down the island due to cyclonic activity?
Then we have The Apologist who, just last year criticized Fumble and co. for a similar shut down. Why should anyone now take The Apologist seriously?
Ya done know the fowls with their LIMITED intellect…..and even more limited memories…
but it will APPLY this year…NEXT YEAR…and ANY YEAR there is the THREAT of a severe storm or hurricane in a Dominica scenario…of the island being DEMOLISHED.
..ya don’t help THIEVES ROB YA OWN COUNTRY AND PEOPLE..eg…TIEFING…a BILLION DOLLARS in VAT and other TAXES…and when there is a disaster…AGAIN..in a Dominica or even Grenada scenario…RUN ALL OVER THE WORLD BEGGING FOR MONEY…people like myself will REMEMBER THOSE THEFTS…and DISCOURSE…accordingly.
and tell that shite government pimp and pimp for minority criminals news rag Nation Useless News…THAT the REAL STAKEHOLDERS IN BARBADOS..are the TAXPAYERS and PENSIONERS…the MAJORITY POPULATION…whose very existence GENERATES the money, taxes etc…that FUELS the economy and has been for over 70 YEARS….
Cow, Bizzy, Maloney, Bjerkham etc are not any real stakeholders…THEY ARE THE THIEVES…get ya facts right you PRETENDERS and FRAUDS..
David
August 27, 2019 7:43 AM
@Dr. Lucas
Do we see same in Miami for example when a storm is approaching? There was a sense of urgency this time around the blogmaster has not witnessed. Obviously there are areas we will need to improve next time around.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Miami reacts to Hurricanes not storms.
By the time a storm gets to their doorstep it will be a hurricane and it will be deadly.
It is unlikely a storm will develop into a hurricane by the time it gets to Barbados.
Fallen trees and blocked roads caused by Dorian.
https://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/241500/fallen-tree-holetown
The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) is informing the public that power outage in the north of the island has caused the Bowmanston, Golden Ridge and Sweet Vale pumping stations to go offline
@ John August 27, 2019 9:49 AM
“Janet was minor, it was only the south of Barbados that was affected significantly…….”
I wasn’t going to reply .You seem to want to dispute the findings of the authorities as far as hurricane Janet is concerned. They are the authorities, you and I are not. I leave you with this last bit of information about Janet. Janet destroyed the anemometer used to record wind speed on the Swan Islands when the latter (anemometer) indicated a speed of 175mph.. So up to this day the wind speed produced by Janet is still debated, All that can be said is that last measured wind speed was 175mph.
Estimated windspeeds in the 1831 hurricane were 200mph …. right here in Barbados!!
Barbados was hammered for 12 hours!!
Janet was a major hurricane in the Swann Islands!!
The Swan Islands, or Islas Santanilla or Islas del Cisne, initially named Islas de las Pozas by Christopher Columbus in 1502, is a chain of three islands located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, approximately 153 kilometres (95 mi) off the coastline of Honduras,[1] with a land area of 3.1 square kilometres (1.2 square miles).[2]
… wiki!!
The building code in Miami make their building more secured in a storm then the chattels and shanties in Barbados.
@Enuff. From my experiences of observing general human behavior, sadly, I would have even been more surprised if anyone didn’t find something to complain.That they do is normal in my book.
I was in Miami several years ago through Hurricane Irma a Category 5 the highest there is.
Despite the high winds limited damage for most structures except caused by flooding in the Florida Keys a very rich area but prone to flooding.
For someone living on a 2 x 4 island to compare the preparation is a bullshitter and typical of postings of being narrow minded.
The many media stations, shelters available, information available minutely is far superior with anything worldwide.
The amount of resources available through the Federal government FEMA for repair after for homeowners affected cannot be compared with the lack of resources in Barbados.
The always informed should keep their limited knowledge to 2 x 4 Barbados instead of showing complete ignorance of matters happening outside the island.
@ Baje
Who made any comparison?
@ Quaker John,
There are so many Johns, your claim that Janet was a mere hurricane seems the wisdom of hindsight. If you remember, at the time it terrorised the island. What is really interesting is that that external shock did not send the nation in to a panic.
@ Greene
Thanks. It is the Barbados Condition. Notice the retreat in to a cavalcade of vulgarities and swearing. That is a sign that the person can no longer articulate a view. Learning by rote means an inability to offer a critical analysis of another’s views.
@Dr. Lucas
Do we see same in Miami for example when a storm is approaching? There was a sense of urgency this time around the blogmaster has not witnessed. Obviously there are areas we will need to improve next time around.
Baje
I see a question asked not a comparison.
If you don’t know you don’t know and best way to find out is to ask a question or do research.
Notice the retreat in to a cavalcade of vulgarities and swearing. (Quote)
Show me the vulgarities and swearing in my comments!!!
John2
I’m not here to sing in the Blogmaster’s choir, but, similarly to you, I thought he was asking a question, rather than making a comparison. And I don’t see anything wrong with that.
I also interpreted his comments re: “There was a sense of urgency this time around the blogmaster has not witnessed. Obviously there are areas we will need to improve next time around,” to mean although Bajans were treating this situation with some level of urgency he had not witnessed previously, there is still room for improvement in certain aspects of our hurricane preparedness, which should be considered before another weather system approaches.
I wonder if it would have made a difference if he had mentioned St. Vincent or St. Lucia?
It used to be said that God was a Bajan.
After the handling of this what could have been a crisis, we shall henceforth say “A Bajan is God”.
Can you imagine if the circus was still the government? Chief clown would not even have known that there was a threat to the island, northern clown would be selling blue peter sharks the entire time and clown finance would be hauling up his gift yacht.
@David August 27, 2019 8:13 AM
Agree with the call, however just pointing out this is the same individual who berated the last prime minister for a similar call. At least past prime minister was not doing photo ok the next day.
@Hal
whilst i dont always support your general negative view of Bim with your trite remarks of Failed State and Barbados Condition, i support your rights to make such arguments and i despise anyone making references to your wife tangentially or directly to counter any such argument.
Indeed. They always hid from a potential hurricane abroad like rats. A hurricane of cat 5 would have left the island for weeks without a guide, like a burning wreck on the open sea.
I remember Christmas 2017 at PriceSmart all too well. An old woman drove up in the MP 2 government vehicle, with at least 10 kilograms of gold around her neck and numerous diamonds on her finger.
You all know what figure I mean. The “Grace” of Barbados!
Our Mia is close to the people, listens to the common people and doesn’t hide in armoured government vehicles with 10 kilograms of gold pieces around her neck.
We survived Dorian.
But the country still suffers from the economic rape by Sinckler, Inniss and the whole DLP entourage.
They have done worse damage than 3 cat 5 hurricanes combined. It’s time for Morris and all the other arrogant DLP bureaucrats who still live like maggots in bacon at the taxpayer’s expense to apologize to the people for their blue terror. Blue is the colour of shame and abuse.
@ Greene,
I would be surprised if you agreed with all my views. I thanked you for raising the obnoxious references. That is all. I am not seeking validation from BU for my view that Barbados as is is a failed state. It is. Show me a single institution of state that works.
And what I call the Barbados Condition, as I have explained, is a composite of behaviours. Carefully scrutinise BU and see what I mean. You have referred to just one of those behaviours, which I believe is a direct result of learning by rote, an inability to debate critically. They are meant to intimidate. I am not an instinctive nationalist. It is the preserve of cowards.
I am always willing to debate my ideas, but I am not prepared to get in to obscenities.
Hal Austin
August 27, 2019 12:33 PM
@ Quaker John,
There are so many Johns, your claim that Janet was a mere hurricane seems the wisdom of hindsight. If you remember, at the time it terrorised the island. What is really interesting is that that external shock did not send the nation in to a panic.
++++++++++++++++++++++
I wasn’t born in Janet, all I know is what I was told and have read.
Same for 1898 and 1831 and 1780!!
All I can do is compare and conclude.
One conclusion is that hurricanes are not as awful as they used to be 200 years ago.
From this I conclude that the theory of global warming is not logical!!
There was a “little ice age” going on in the world back then, from the 14th to 19th century!!
.. if you are interested.
Greene August 27, 2019 1:59 PM
I wholeheartedly agree,Hal’s wife should be left out of the exchanges. The poor woman she be given a medal for putting up with the bullshitter from the Ivy for so many years.
@ John
I do not know anything about global warming. All know is that Janet terrorised Barbados and the Grantley Adams government rose to the occasion. It did us proud.
Hal Austin
August 27, 2019 2:28 PM
@ John
I do not know anything about global warming. All know is that Janet terrorised Barbados and the Grantley Adams government rose to the occasion. It did us proud.
+++++++++++++++++++
Until I learnt about it I did not know anything about Janet.
Willy C.
Mia is a politician and had the DLP on the ropes.
It now up to whatever political party to use what you said against her (IF they can get any mileage out of it).
But understand she is a politician first.
@ Greene
@ Hal
I support Greene’s comment.
I think that dragging peoples’ personal lives into the discourse is to be avoided at all costs.
@ David
The quicker you enforce the new approach on the blog, the better.
@ john2 August 27, 2019 3:06 PM
You could not have said it any better. And we need to digest that fact along with all the Koolaid on offer/menu.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.