The Atlantic Hurricane Season is here.
Nearly six years after Hurricane Irma, we would love to report that the territory is well prepared for the major storms that could strike with precious little warning now through the end of November.
Sadly, we cannot. Despite the still-fresh memory of the 2017 devastation, the territory has not done nearly enough to act on the lessons learned.
This storm season, which started last Thursday, is forecast to be about average.
The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting 12 to 17 named storms. Five to nine are expected to become hurricanes, one to four of which are expected to grow to Category Three or higher.
But such predictions are largely beside the point. As Irma made clear, even a single storm can be catastrophic.
As if to hammer home the urgency, the first named storm of the season formed Friday in the Gulf of Mexico. Though it dissipated into a tropical depression before making landfall, it brought rains and winds to south Florida.
The VI, meanwhile, has largely continued with business as usual.
The state of yards, business premises and construction sites across the territory is ample evidence that residents have not taken the needed preliminary steps to prepare for the worst.
The government is one of the chief offenders. It has repaired some of the community centres that are supposed to serve as hurricane shelters, but others have remained in disrepair since 2017.
Meanwhile, the long-delayed National Emergency Operations Centre is not scheduled for completion until November, leaving the Department of Disaster Management to face one more hurricane season without the dedicated bunker it badly needs.
Then there’s the unfinished Ralph T. O’Neal Administration Building — the poster child of many neglected government recovery projects — which would surely be extremely difficult to secure in the event of a hurricane.
And across the territory, the waters are still littered with derelict vessels left by Irma.
All of these issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
But government can’t prepare alone. Businesses, non-profit organisations, churches, families and individuals also have an important role to play. This means reviewing response plans, stockpiling supplies, taking preliminary steps to secure premises, clearing loose materials, and much more.
Surely, Irma taught the territory this much. Everyone please prepare now.