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Cyclones:
so much to be
grateful for…
--
Dr R Neerunjun Gopee
Those
of us with memories of cyclones Alix, Carol, Gervaise
amongst others will no doubt acknowledge that in the matter
of advance warning and coping with cyclones we have made
much headway in this country. Natural catastrophes overwhelm
the capacities of even the most developed nations: the
after-effects of perhaps the worst cyclone in the history of
the US, Katrina which swept through and devastated New
Orleans, are still being felt. And as global warming pursues
its relentless march, we are likely to have to face such
extremes of climate with increasing frequency and at unusual
periods of the known weather cycles in all regions. So say
the experts, and we have already been witnessing this around
the world with flash floods, droughts and eruptions of
various kinds. Unfortunately, as if these were not enough,
we have chronic conflict zones where humans beings have
decided that they will surpass nature’s destructive
tendencies and specialize voire delight in
exterminating each other. At least nature is not motivated
by any particular dislike or deliberate revenge!
When
dog bites man it is not news, but when man bites dog it is
news: and so it is that the media will report mostly the
negative and worse incidents that take place during a
cyclone, and indeed there may be a sense in that because it
draws attention to the problems and problem areas where more
attention may need to be focused. At the same time, though,
it must not be forgotten that there are a whole series of
protocols and mechanisms existing that are automatically
activated to ensure that the country keeps ticking during
these trying times.
In a previous article many years ago I had done it, and it
bears repeating that we must be thankful to all those
belonging in particular to the essential services who brave
the inclement conditions and are present on site to perform
their duties and maintain a level of service so that people
get the kind of information, service and help that are
required.
To
start with credit must go to the staff of the meteorological
department who are the first to warn us well ahead of the
impending danger and who give a continuous update of the
movement of the cyclone with all the details regarding rain,
wind speed and so on. When we remember that when the eye of
cyclone Carol was passing over the island in 1960 and
suddenly there was a calm and people started coming out
thinking that it was all over, until policemen began to go
around in their cars and exhort them to get back in because
the worse was coming, we must agree that modern systems of
communication – again manned by staff who are physically
present during the cyclone – have now allowed us to gain
such information in real time and at less risk to everybody
around. Firemen, policemen, the SMF guys, CEB workers, hotel
personnel attending to tourists – and the list can be
added to – represent dedicated services where contingency
plans are set into motion to maintain the ongoing activities
as well as to cope with the unexpected.
At
the highest level of the country there are cyclone
committees consisting of representatives from vital
departments and sectors that meet, take decisions and give
directives for action that are immediately implemented. But
even before these coordinating and monitoring bodies get
into the act, what is of more importance is that there are
established protocols in all departments that are followed
and that ensure the maintenance of vital services. Such is
the case for health, for example, and even before the
existence of such formal protocols dedicated health
personnel used to be present to take care of patients in
hospitals and handle emergencies. There are cases where
operations once begun have had to be continued and completed
with the help of torchlight when the electricity suddenly
failed, testifying to the skills and boldness of the
surgeons in their attempts to save lives. And again, such
examples could be multiplied several times.
I
must declare interest, but it is open knowledge that our
hospital services functioned quasi-normally during the
passage of cyclone Gamede. There were staff of all grades
present to ensure as smooth a delivery of service as
possible, and it is salutary that there was no really major
catastrophe, especially as regards infrastructure, to
deplore. The most common problem reported was leakage --
which is almost inevitable even in many individual homes –
and where this was necessary patients were moved or
evacuated to safer locations. Again, there is nothing new
here as this has been done so many times in the past under
similar circumstances. In other words, during the actual
passage of the cyclone, everything is in place to cater to
the needs of patients and to handle any emergency, and the
public has every reason to rest assured that no stone is
left unturned to guarantee their medical coverage when the
cyclone strikes.
But
what happens immediately afterwards is of equal if not
greater importance, for when there has been so much of rain
along with power cuts, a problem of food and water security
arises, with potentially serious health consequences. Thus
the spectre of outbreaks of infectious diseases such as
gastroenteritis, upper respiratory infections,
conjunctivitis, malaria and now chickungunya looms large.
Urgently, measures are taken and awareness campaigns are
launched, with the help of the media and multiple sectors
– both public and private – at national level to
pre-empt any such outbreaks.
The
public must pay careful attention to the precautions that
are being advertised and spoken about by health personnel on
radio and television so as to ensure their personal safety
and that of their families. By extension there will be a
spillover effect to the country as a whole. Simple sanitary
measures like washing of hands, adequate boiling of water
before consumption, avoidance of foods that may have been
refrozen after being defrozen during power cuts can go a
long way to prevent infections. Further, the cleaning of
yards and the accelerated collection of waste by the local
and environmental authorities supplement personal hygiene in
helping to avoid the onset of disease that can spread
rapidly in the aftermath of a cyclone.
As
I wrote above, we have indeed come a long way from the time
that warning systems were primitive and our capacity for
coping with cyclones was woefully inadequate. Of course
nothing is perfect and we must not be complacent. While we
must keep being vigilant and improve even more on our coping
mechanisms, it behoves us to express our thanks to all those
who, unseen mostly, are at work to make sure that the key
institutions and vital sectors of the country are up and
running as it were so that the country does not grind to a
halt when the cyclone strikes. A big bravo to all of them!
RN
Gopee
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