It’s 19 years ago today when hurricane Ivan hit Grenada a devastating blow and citizens who experienced the turbulence continue to live with the memories of the traumatic time.
The heartache is that a hurricane is a terrible weather phenomenon to endure.
Those who never had such experience before, until Ivan came, realized they would never ever want to witness anything like that again.
Throughout, some 41 persons had lost their lives.
The country’s landscape was severely impacted with widespread demolition to the housing stock and the agriculture sector.
Damages were estimated to the tune of over 1 billion dollars.
The storm was well organized with a sharply defined eye, rated as category 3.
Hurricane Ivan struck Grenada with full force on September 7, 2004.
The man who was spearheading things surrounding the National Emergency Relief Organization (NERO), the title of the Hurricane Preparedness Office at the time, Police Superintendent Sylvan McIntyre, had word with Wee FM News today, remembering Hurricane Ivan.
He says Grenada has come a long way since then and while this is so, there’s still a lot more to be done.
McIntyre says on occasions like these with commemorations of hurricanes and other traumatic weather events, there should be greater awareness, being information-driven.
Every year when this time comes around we usually take our microphones to the streets to get the views of persons who experienced hurricane Ivan and to the extent preparedness today should a hurricane strike.
