Burchall: Bermuda Hurricane Drill
Bermuda really does have a hurricane drill. In fact, Bermuda started getting ready for Hurricane Igor, four months ago in May 2010, when Bermuda’s Emergency Measures Organization (everybody knows it as EMO) held its annual Hurricane Preparedness Exercise.
This exercise always takes place in May of every year, before the start of what Bermudians know as ‘hurricane season’. Hurricane Season runs 01 June to 30 November every year. The peak of Hurricane Season is 10 September when, statistically, it is around the time that the Atlantic Ocean will see maximum hurricane activity.
Bermuda put its learned experience into practice forty-three years ago, in 1967, when it formed the EMO. Since 1967, the EMO has handled everything from its bread-and-butter hurricanes (four hurricane hits – Alice 1973, Emily 1987, Felix 1995, Fabian 2003 and over 20 hurricane near-misses); to oil spills and Bermuda’s response to the fall-out from America’s 9/11 Twin Towers day.
The EMO starts out under the command of the Cabinet Minister who is responsible for Public Safety. For Hurricane Igor, the Minister is the Honourable David Burch, Minister for Labour, Immigration, and Public Safety. The EMO contains every organization that will or that may play a role in dealing with a hurricane. Pre-hurricane and post-hurricane.
These organizations range from the Police and Bermuda Regiment down to the Salvation Army and Ham Radio Society. In between are BELCO, Works & Engineering, Airport Authority, Marine & Ports, Hospitals, Fire and Rescue, Government Communication & Information, and many more. In all, there are over forty government and non-government organizations represented within the EMO. With forty years of practical and remembered experience, these organizations have learned to mesh smoothly.
In the pre-hurricane stages – as is happening now – the Minister runs the EMO. His primary task is to ensure that all systems are working and that all organizations have met their commitments and are ready to provide all the kinds of support that they are equipped for, mandated to do, or have offered to undertake.
The Minister carries out this role until ‘Hunker Down’. During ‘Hunker Down’, this Minister operates from COMOPS (Combined Operations), located at the Police HQ in Devonshire. During ‘Hunker Down’, this Minister will be the sole determinant of what goes out over the airwaves. He exercises this role as the person who is at the centre of a functioning communications network that is being operated by the Police and Regiment and that is in direct contact with the Bermuda Weather Service.
During Hunker Down, all info comes in to COMOPS. The Minister, as head of the EMO then authorizes the release of information in the public service and interest. This is done so that false or wild rumours do not start and so that fears are properly dealt with. All this info is relayed to the public via the national Emergency Broadcast System [EBS] which always goes live on 100.1FM just before the start of ‘Hunker Down’.
The official notice of the passing of hurricane danger – in effect the ‘all clear’ – is given through the EBS.
Once the ‘all clear’ is given, and for a major hit or event like Hurricane Igor, EMO command will usually pass, immediately, to the Premier.
The Premier, when taking over the EMO, brings the full panoply of Bermuda’s legislative and executive power to the table. The Premier, through the connection between the EMO and Cabinet, can manage all matters at Cabinet level. This means that there is no need for any secondary discussion at the EMO; and no need for any consultation with any other authority or organization.
Once the post-hurricane problem – any problem – is tabled, discussed, and a solution put forward, that solution then goes forward with the full weight of Government – from the top down – behind it; to enforce it, to implement it, and to pay for it.
This post-hurricane decision making process is traditionally swift. It takes mere minutes for any one matter to be discussed before a decision is taken, resources and manpower are prioritized and allocated, and Police, Regiment, Fire Services, Works & Engineering, BELCO, and anyone else rolls fast to get that task underway and completed; before the next priority task or matter is fitted in.
Prior to 1967, the Minister’s and Premier’s roles were undertaken by the Deputy Governor and Governor. However, in 1996, these roles were handed on to the Government-of-the-day. This is another case of the Governor’s ‘reserved powers’ being handed on.
Currently, the Deputy Governor sits in on the meetings and keeps the Governor informed. This link is necessary because should there be a post-hurricane need for the use of extra-ordinary legal powers, under the Emergency Powers Act, 1963, the Governor is the only person who can invoke Special Powers.
Should that happen, the Governor would then reasonably take over the EMO. This kind of situation would only be likely if Law and Order deteriorated to the extent that it did in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina strike in New Orleans. However, despite many direct hits, law, order, commonsense, and a strong sense of community – as befits a small and isolated community – has always prevailed in all post-hurricane Bermudas.
Next, who does what?
