EMO Notice: School Closures, Causeway Etc
Government schools will close tomorrow at 12 noon and will remain closed on Thursday and Friday, Government offices will close early tomorrow at 3.00 pm and will remain closed on Thursday.
As far as transportation, the Causeway at 11.00 p.m. tomorrow night, there will be no ferry service tomorrow and the last public bus will be at 8.00 p.m. tomorrow evening.
This was confirmed by the Emergency Measures Organisation [EMO], who held a meeting this afternoon and said the key points are:
- After careful assessment of the weather conditions, a decision has been made to close the Causeway at 11.00 p.m. tomorrow night. Those of you who need to cross the Causeway Bridge are encouraged to do so prior to 11.00 p.m. tomorrow.
- The Causeway will be closed for the duration of Hurricane Nicole. Please allow the appropriate time for emergency personnel to assess the bridge prior to its reopening.
- Residents can be assured that the Causeway will be continually assessed throughout the storm.
- Government schools will close tomorrow at 12 noon and will remain closed on Thursday and Friday. We are urging parents to please make the requisite arrangements for your children in advance of the storm.
- Government offices will close early tomorrow at 3.00 pm and will remain closed on Thursday only.
- The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce advises all businesses to be mindful of the weather forecasts surrounding TS/ Hurricane Nicole. In light of government’s decision to close schools at noon on Wednesday they are recommending that businesses close by 3.00 pm at the latest to give staff the opportunity to make their personal preparations.
- Out of an abundance of caution the EMO is strongly advising residents/motorists to stay off the roads as of 10 pm tomorrow night until the all clear has been given by the relevant emergency agencies.
Minister Baron’s full remarks follow below:
Good afternoon,
I’m joined by the Commissioner of Police, Michael DeSilva and the Director of the Bermuda Weather Service, Kimberly Zuill.
The Emergency Measures Organisation just concluded its meeting and we wanted to convey some important messages to the public.
Nicole is forecast to be a Category 2 hurricane and Bermuda is currently under a Hurricane Warning.
Current BWS reports have Hurricane Nicole’s closest point of approach to Bermuda at 25 nautical miles at 11.00 a.m. Thursday morning.
And as Nicole approaches we can expect deteriorating conditions, including his surf, increasing winds, showers and thunderstorms.
As I noted yesterday, we cannot be complacent with this storm.
By now your preparations should be nearing completion or be completed.
It is imperative that residents follow the public safety and weather advisories issued by the EMO.
And before I get into the main EMO details, I want to make a special plea to residents who have seniors or vulnerable persons in their neighborhoods to please check on them.
Make sure they have what they need and are supported as we prepare to deal with Hurricane Nicole.
So with that, based on this afternoon’s EMO meeting here are some key points to know:
After careful assessment of the weather conditions, a decision has been made to close the Causeway at 11.00 p.m. tomorrow night. Those of you who need to cross the Causeway Bridge are encouraged to do so prior to 11.00 p.m. tomorrow.
The Causeway will be closed for the duration of Hurricane Nicole. Please allow the appropriate time for emergency personnel to assess the bridge prior to its reopening.
Residents can be assured that the Causeway will be continually assessed throughout the storm.
Government schools will close tomorrow at 12 noon and will remain closed on Thursday AND Friday.
We are urging parents to please make the requisite arrangements for your children in advance of the storm.
Government offices will close early tomorrow at 3.00 pm and will remain closed on Thursday only.
The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce advises all businesses to be mindful of the weather forecasts surrounding TS/ Hurricane Nicole. In light of government’s decision to close schools at noon on Wednesday they are recommending that businesses close by 3.00 pm at the latest to give staff the opportunity to make their personal preparations.
Out of an abundance of caution the EMO is strongly advising residents/motorists to stay off the roads as of 10 pm tomorrow night until the all clear has been given by the relevant emergency agencies.
Following the passage of the hurricane, the EMO is asking that people stay off the roads in order for emergency personnel to conduct their assessment duties safely.
There will be flight cancellations, so members of the public travelling are encouraged to contact their airlines for any updates.
The L.F. Wade International Airport will assess the facility and will make a decision on its closure tomorrow.
As it relates to public transportation: There will be no ferry service tomorrow. And the last public bus will be at 8.00 p.m. tomorrow evening.
The Royal Bermuda Regiment will deploy personnel around the Island starting Wednesday evening.
The Government Shelter at CedarBridge Academy will be open as of tomorrow, Wednesday at 4.00 p.m.
The Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Facility will remain open through the duration of the storm.
The Emergency Broadcast Station (100.1 FM) will be on the air from 10.00 p.m. until, and will be providing updates on the hour and half hour.
The EMO will reconvene a meeting tomorrow following the passage of the storm.
The public is encouraged to stay tuned to regular updates on FM 100.1 or weather.bm, gov.bm or via the EMO FaceBook and Twitter platforms.
Finally, I want to stress that it is very important that residents take all necessary precautions.
Please stay indoors during the storm – this includes no kite surfing or swimming in our south shore waters. The conditions are just too dangerous and we cannot risk the safety of you or our emergency personnel.
As I turn it over to the BWS Director, I want to encourage Bermudians to please stay safe and band together in the spirit of unity as we are known to do in times of challenges and adversity.
Thank You.
For all our coverage of Nicole click here.
Bernews, Thank you, your quick to the draw and the up to the minute latest, so I will put my foot in mouth and shut up, because I just complained were the heck is the governments report on closure and you come right out with the whole report in less the 5 minutes of my posting.
Thank You again.
Why even have schools open til 12? What sense does that make.
In order to give parents some time to do final preparations at their jobs. We don’t all work for the government. The private sector operates differently so I’m glad the schools are open until 12 as it will allow me some more time for final preps at work while not having to worry about who’s going to watch my kids for the morning.
Is Bermuda college
Is Bermuda college still holding classes?
This is not a complaint.. just an observation.
Planning for the hurricane makes eminent sense. It seems equally sensible however to close schools for Thursday and make a decision late Thursday about Friday. If the storm passes with minimum impact, closing schools on Friday will be a major disruption for many parents.
Similarly for tomorrow, it would seem practical to coordinate the school closing with government buildings. That would allow a more orderly pick up of children where required.
There’s enough information which indicates this storm will have a fairly significant impact on us. Enough of an impact that unlike your proposal, it is actually not wise to open schools on Friday, when Friday will be needed for maintenance staff, etc to assess the safety of all school buildings. Better to make that call now and be prudent than to leave people wondering.
The reality is even if the damage is minimal, they’ve made the right call to reserve Friday for checking for structural integrity and perform any necessary cleanup.