Aug. 16, 2007 — St. John gets a B for hurricane readiness, said Alvis Christian, deputy director of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency, after a meeting Thursday of the island's emergency-service coordinators at VITEMA headquarters in Susannaberg.
Christian said that he couldn't pinpoint what it would take to bring St. John up to an A, but the fact that so many agency, department, organization and business representatives attended the meeting showed good progress. About 20 people came out for the meeting.
VITEMA plans to "stand up" starting at 5 p.m. Friday should St. John get an impact from Hurricane Dean, he said.
"That means we're open 24/7," Christian said. The alert will probably last until Sunday, he said.
Most everyone at the meeting reported they were ready should the storm head toward the Virgin Islands instead of passing south of St. Croix, as now predicted.
"All our cots are here," said American Red Cross representative Carol McGuinness, ticking off a list of items on St. John.
Deputy Public Works Commissioner Ira Wade reminded everyone to prepare their offices and their homes to handle the rain that might come with Hurricane Dean.
"This is a wakeup call,” Christian said. “The heart of hurricane season is right around the corner.”
At issue was the Education Department's failure to secure generators for Julius E. Sprauve and Guy Benjamin Schools.
"They are feeding and distribution centers," Christian told Education Department representative Dionne Wells, stressing the need for generators at those locations. He told Wells to write him a letter that he'd take up the VITEMA chain of command so pressure could be put on the Education Department to get the generators.
After the meeting, Christian said he has two generators lined up to borrow — should they be needed at the schools — from an entity he declined to name.
A V.I. Water and Power Authority generator at Mamey Peak doesn't work, said George Cline of St. John Rescue. It powers a communications repeater when the electricity goes off.
"You lose the police, fire, rescue and the park,” Cline said. “That's a key station.”
Concerns about the availability of fuel should the gas stations run out were expressed by both Bob Malacarne of St. John Rescue and V.I. Port Authority Dockmaster Elrod Hendricks Jr. After the meeting, Christian said they would work on the matter.
Most of the police officers assigned to St. John live on St. Thomas, said Lt. Lorraine Evans, the police department's zone commander. Those that are already on St. John when the ferry service stops because a storm is about to hit will have to stay on St. John, she said.
"They've been told to travel with three days’ worth of clothes," Evans said.
At issue for several local government representatives was the fact that they are not given cell phones to use in emergencies but must use their own private phones if they have them. After hearing from several people, Christian told them to put it in writing and he'd take that issue up the VITEMA officials. But he also told the people who were unhappy about using their personal cell phones that he was talking about an emergency.
"We are not taking any chances,” he said. “Everybody is inconvenienced.”
Christian asked them all to supply contact numbers where they could be reached in an emergency.
St. John has at least one spot expected to flood if the island gets heavy rains this weekend. Deputy Public Works Commissioner Ira Wade said he's waiting for pipes to install near the Marketplace shopping center to drain away water. The area near the shopping center entrance is prone to flooding.
The pipes should arrive Friday, but he won't be able to get them installed until Monday, Wade said.
Others at the meeting said they expect water to run down the gut from near the Sirenusa condominium construction project to that area. After the meeting, Christian said the gut needs to be cleaned out.
Residents will be able to pick up bags and sand to make sandbags at the fire stations in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay when a storm is on its way, he said.
VITEMA plans a dry run at 8 p.m. Aug. 26 to make sure all the ferries and barges fit into the Creek, a protected area in Cruz Bay. A ferry will continue to run during the exercise, but space will be allocated for that ferry in the Creek, Christian said.
Additionally, VITEMA plans a fair Sept. 6 in Cruz Bay Park to help residents prepare for hurricane season. Representatives from agencies, department and businesses that sell hurricane supplies will be on hand.
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