GREAT BAY,– Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Governor Franklyn Richards, is thankful that once again the nation has been spared from a direct hit by a hurricane for the 2009 hurricane season.
“We have much to be thankful for having gone through the 2009 hurricane season without being struck by a storm and the costs that comes along with it in damages. The 2009 hurricane season comes to an end on Monday, November 30 until next year June 1 when it all starts again.
“I would like to thank the people of our island nation for taking the necessary preparations for the season. We had a number of storm systems that passed close to the island and these forced us into a emergency preparatory mode for possible damage should the system have changed direction.
“However, preparation at the beginning of every hurricane season is the key. It’s an investment that must be made in order to protect life and property. I would like to thank the public as well as the island’s disaster management team and emergency support functions for their role played in preparing the nation,” Governor Franklyn Richards told the Government Information Service (GIS) on Sunday.
For the 2009 hurricane season, nine named storms formed of which three became hurricanes (Bill, Fred, and Ida) and of those two became major hurricanes of over category three (Bill category four, Fred category three).
Hurricane Bill became the first hurricane and first major hurricane of the season with 135 miles per hour winds.
Hurricane Fred, a category three according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, became the strongest hurricane on record south of 30 degrees North and East of 35 degrees West in the Atlantic Basin with wind speeds of 120 miles per hour.
