The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas can shelter about 14,000 people during a natural disaster, but officials say the country still falls short of the international benchmark as the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season begins.

Disaster Risk Management Authority Managing Director Aaron Sargent said yesterday that The Bahamas has 144 shelters and has completed about 90 shelter inspections across the country, with only about three shelters in New Providence still awaiting inspection.

"The global standard is about ten percent of population, and so we have work to do to continue to increase that and build new shelters, especially in the southern region," he said.

Mr Sargent spoke during a press briefing to mark the start of the hurricane season. He said he, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Disaster Risk Management McKell Bonaby, DRM Authority Executive Chairman Alex Storr and senior officials from several government agencies briefed Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday on national preparedness efforts.

He said officials are confident that work completed during the "blue sky" period has strengthened the country’s ability to respond to hurricanes and other natural hazards.

The Department of Meteorology has forecast a below-average 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, with about 11 named storms and between one and three hurricanes expected. Mr Sargent said the outlook is linked to the El Niño weather pattern, which has also contributed to extreme heat.

However, he warned residents not to treat the forecast as a reason to relax.

"We want to encourage residents not to take it lightly that we have a below-average season,” he said. “And it just takes one rapidly intensifying storm that can affect our islands, and as we are located within the hurricane belt, it just takes one to impact our islands and bring devastation to our islands."

Mr Sargent said the DRM Authority has completed regional readiness exercises on eight islands to strengthen local disaster response, with a national disaster readiness exercise scheduled for July.

He said the authority is also nearing completion of a National Recovery Framework intended to standardise relief and recovery efforts after disasters. The framework will soon be submitted to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Disaster Risk Management for review and approval.

The authority has also invested in training and technology. Earlier this year, DRM officers participated in a programme with the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, the Rhode Island National Guard and US Northern Command to improve their use of the WebEOC emergency management platform.

Mr Sargent said the system will improve communication and situational awareness between agencies and the Family Islands during disasters.

"We intend to deploy the full rollout of that program at our upcoming national disaster readiness exercise that will take place in July," he said.

On shelter readiness, Mr Sargent said inspection standards have been strengthened since the establishment of the DRM Authority and that most facilities are meeting requirements.

He said construction work on the disaster shelter in Abaco has been completed and the facility is ready for use.

"We've just recently, on a different format, allowed the administrator on Abaco to utilise it during the electoral cycle to stress test some of the infrastructure, and it passed and did what it needed to do," he said.

Mr Sargent said disaster preparedness is a year-round effort, with the authority continuing to improve infrastructure, training and technology.

He urged residents to inspect their homes and businesses, prepare shutters and plywood, secure important documents and develop evacuation plans before a storm threatens the country.

Residents should familiarise themselves with shelter locations and use the government’s hurricane readiness campaign resources.

He encouraged the public to attend the Hurricane Expo on June 20 at Marathon Mall and use the free preparedness resources available at getready.gov.bs.

Mr Bonaby was not present at the briefing. Asked when the newly appointed minister would address the public, Mr Sargent said: "Minister Barnaby will be releasing an address tonight on all news platforms."