Hurricane Preparedness
1st June sees the start of our hurricane season here in Grand Cayman, and if the weather outside the last few days is anything to go by, it’s best to start getting prepared in the event that we do experience a hurricane or extreme adverse weather.
Be as informed as you can to prepare for any event – stock up on bottled water, canned goods, candles and batteries for your flash lights. Make sure that you know where your nearest safety shelter is and have all emergency contact numbers to hand. Work out how to safety proof your home and make sure all your insurance policies are up to date. These are just a few things that you will need to do to prepare for hurricane season, for a full in-depth checklist and for all the safety tips you will need in order to get through the hurricane season, please click this link for the official Cayman government guidelines.
Make sure you stay safe this hurricane season!
A hurricane is a type of storm called a tropical cyclone, which forms over tropical or subtropical waters.
A tropical cyclone is a rotating low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no fronts (a boundary separating two air masses of different densities). Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained surface winds of less than 39 miles per hour (mph) are called tropical depressions. Those with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph or higher are called tropical storms.
When a storm’s maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, it is called a hurricane. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating, or category, based on a hurricane’s maximum sustained winds. The higher the category, the greater the hurricane’s potential for property damage.