Since ~1990, we in The Bahamas have been a destination, birthplace or ‘thoroughfare’ for 15 major hurricanes and hurricanes. We are ‘battle weary’ from surviving these natural disasters and have achieved the dubious distinction of ‘knowing a thing or two’ about these dangerous tropical storms. However, it can be argued that whatever knowledge we have accumulated from our too frequent encounters has or is not being put to best use. Therefore, with nearly all of our inhabited islands affected, damage to property increasing, restoration times lengthening, loss of human life increasing and the current trauma of the unprecedented Dorian still fresh in our minds, is the time not ripe to convene a public inquiry to take stock of our disaster management process, resources and capabilities?

Hurricane	Year	Islands Mainly Affected
1. DORIAN	2019	Abaco, Grand Bahama
2. IRMA	2017	Little Inagua
3. MATTHEW	2016	Ragged Is, New Providence, Andros, Berry Is, Grand Bahama
4. JOAQUIN	2015	Crooked Is, Long Is, Rum Cay, San Salvador
5. SANDY	2012	Long Is, Cat Is, Eleuthera, Abaco
6. IKE	2008	Inagua
7. WILMA	2007	Grand Bahama
8. KATRINA	2005	Born off Long Is, exited south of Grand Bahama
9. RITA	2005	Crooked Is/Acklins, Ragged Is
10. FRANCES	2004	Rum Cay, San Salvador, Cat Is, Eleuthera, Abaco, Grand Bahama
11. JEANNE	2004	Inagua, Abaco, Grand Bahama (after looping back south)
12. FLOYD	1999	Cat Is, Eleuthera, Abaco
13. LILI	1996	South Andros, Ragged Island, Long Island
14. ERIN	1995	Ragged Is, Cat Is, Long Is, Eleuthera, Abaco, Grand Bahama
15. ANDREW	1992	North Eleuthera, Berry Is

This is a totally reasonable question, regardless of political persuasion, because whatever we had learned from the run of 1990’s hurricanes (Andrew, Erin, Lili and Floyd) did not prepare us for those we experienced in the ‘noughties’ (Jeanne, Frances, Rita, Katrina, Wilma and Ike), which in turn, did not prepare us for what has happened since 2010 (Sandy, Joaquin, Matthew and Irma). It is conceded that nothing could have prepared us for Dorian, whose apocalyptic destruction has been seared into our consciousness for the rest of time. Big issues of possible climatological causes aside, perhaps the time has come for us to take a collective step back in order to reflect on and review our accumulated experiences, so we can then collate and apply our knowledge to future situations.

Yes, Dorian showcased some of our capabilities, but it exposed weaknesses as well. By mobilising our knowledge and experience and that of others, we would be able more effectively to deal with the ‘before; ‘during’; and ‘after’ of hurricane management. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017; as Katrina did to Louisiana, 2005 and Ivan to the Caymans, 2004, all valuable experiences that would supplement our own, and with which we would be able to deal more effectively with all stages of hurricane management: ‘before; ‘during’; and ‘after’. Our extended knowledge base would be tremendously helpful in organising our thoughts and actions, built by examining a well-defined and tight set of issues, inter alia:

PREPARATION (education, research and awareness; and ensuring programmes are mandatory across all school levels; exploring the legality of mandatory evacuation orders and the requisitioning of boats, vehicles and aircraft; the role of NEMA)
CENTRAL COMMAND/CO-ORDINATION (allocation of authority; who deals with external governmental agencies, NGO’s; who disseminates official information and handles disinformation/’fake news’ (particular social media); how should public and private donations be handled; providing reassurances to private donors; the scope of NEMA)
RAPID RESPONSE STRATEGY (who responds in the immediate aftermath; what is our current ability to respond rapidly; how rapid response teams should be trained and resourced; what skills should comprise the search and rescue teams; evacuation strategy and capabilities; the effectiveness of NEMA in organising the above)
MASS CLEAN-UP & PREPARATION FOR REBUILDING (recording of current specialist equipment (heavy, medical, transport) to map against need; counsellors to help deal with those most vulnerable to PTSD; guidance on how to get lives back together, e.g. guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/cleanup/facts.html)
SPECIALIST EXPERTISE & FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCES (sharing knowledge from experts in international disaster relief, medical humanitarian assistance; building materials and codes; reconstruction, newbuild designs; and from individuals who have lived through the trauma here and in neighbouring countries); and
RECONSTRUCTION & RESTORATION STRATEGY (including resettlement; funding, resources, issuance of infrastructure/building contracts, use of donated monies, coordination of designs and build, quality control and assurance oversight, how we treat the ‘undocumented’ and ensure those who have lost critical documents are ‘re-documented’ as soon as possible)

Clearly, any such inquiry would not be about recriminations or apportioning blame, and should be held in the ‘off-hurricane’ season, run by a senior member of our or another Government/NGO, held between January and April, and convened every 2 – 3 years to update our knowledge, especially in the aftermath of new and more powerful major hurricanes like Dorian. However, some argue it is too early, while others stress their own political agendas, but clearly if convened and run properly, such questions would pale into insignificance in contrast to the wealth of data and knowledge we can gain because although inquiries can be:

“challenging, upsetting, difficult, unforgiving and at times potentially even dangerous, it is critical that we as free human beings living in a democratic society are able to inquire as to why situations have arisen; how they have occurred; what the consequences were of the action; who was involved; what can be learnt from them and how the situation can be altered and improved for the next time it occurs”[1].

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