September 15, 2008 The Abaconian SectionA Page7 Flooding affected several communities Hanna From Page 6 cery store owners who had stated that their stores were out of the basic needs. “The airports at Treasure Cay and Marsh Harbour were scheduled stay open as long as possible up to 40 m.p.h. winds. After the passage of the storm they will reopen as soon as possible to bring in supplies and people doing assessments. “The Customs Department will remain on call with certain staff in place in case someone was still out at sea and needing to come in,” stated Supt. Smith. Hurricane Preparations at BEC By Jennifer Hudson Prior to the predicted passage of Hur- ricane Hanna over Abaco, workers of The Bahamas Electricity Corporation were busy completing tree trimming operations throughout the entire length of the island. Mr. Everette Strachan, Office Manager, spoke to me of the preparations made by the corporation whenever a hurricane watch is issued for the island. “Disaster preparedness sessions are attended and we make sure that we have adequate fuel and all trailer sets are anchored down. We make sure we have critical spares for re- pairs after the hurricane especially if boats are not traveling. There is a procedures manual and all guidelines in the manual are followed as set out for 72 hours, 48 hours, 36 hours and so on preceding the hurri- cane. Community vehicles are fueled and serviced and all rain gear, tools and first aid kits are made ready. Shutters are put up over any windows in the power station. “Power is kept on as long as possible. But once there is an interruption on a feeder, then everything is shut down un- til that is investigated. Previously, all ef- forts have been made to keep the power on as long as possible during a hurricane. Two areas in the Treasure Cay area are prone to flooding. The grounds of the Treasure Cay Primary School are low without proper drainage. The scene above is Sand Banks, a settlement mostly of immigrants that is exposed to the rising water of one of the Treasure Cay creeks. Find Luxury SUUs & Vans at the! Matt! The Toyota 4Runner is.a high-tech machine that-can roll over rough territory, no sweat. The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is a rugged 4x4 with a- 4-litre engine that gives tremendous off-road handling. Dual zone air-conditioning, class-leading durability and safety come standard. The Honda Pilot seats eight and has lots of cargo space. New safety and engineering features abound, and luxurious extras have been added for even more comfort and convenience. / The Honda Odyssey redefines just how good a minivan can be with its cutting-edge design and features such as the stowable 2nd row PlusOne seat. All models are sold at standard Nassau prices, and are _backed by full factory warranties; Land Cruiser / Prado , Toyota 4Runner Don MacKay Blvd Marsh Harbour tel: 367-2916 fax: 367-2918 email: amml@coralwave.com But this year talks have been underway to shut down the power station as soon as a Category One hurricane when winds reach 75 m.p.h. reaches the island. The reason for this is that we don’t want any damage to the equipment which could come from surges. The station would go into standby mode so that although the engines would not be distributing power to the people, the station would still be powered up ready to resume distribution once the storm had passed. The manager will make the deci- sion as to when to shut down.” School Preparations for TS Hanna By Jennifer Hudson Mrs. Lenora Black, Superintendent of Education for Abaco, stated on the day fol- lowing the passage of Tropical Storm Han- na over Abaco, that all schools had fared well throughout the storm. “All schools were well prepared as ev- eryone sprang into action early with hur- ricane preparations. Plans presented by the Ministry of Education were placed in the hands of administrators who were re- sponsible for following through. Moore’s Island was the only school to get any wind bahamian cuisine ~Seen on Hope Town's waterfront driven rain in through the windows which were of the old wood type though, fortu- nately, no major damage resulted. Most schools now have new metal interlocking shutters which are easy to close and are very effective. Extra wood will be put over the windows of the Moore’s Island School to secure them before Hurricane Ike. Then later new metal interlocking windows will be installed. All of the schools came through in good condition though Treasure Cay School has a lot of water in the yard. “All equipment and materials were safe- guarded. Books were removed from near windows and all objects were removed off floors. Electronic items such as computers were placed safely in plastic bags and at schools which were to be used as hurricane shelters items were secured in boxes and put away.” While Mrs. Black had seen quite a num- ber of people using the Central Abaco Pri- mary School as a hurricane shelter, she had only noticed three persons at the high school shelter whom she said may have been official personnel. Everything looked to be in order,” she stated. Please see Hanna Page 9 ES Bar Opens Daily 10 a.m. Closed on Tuesdays Happy Hour 5 - 6 p.m. Lunch & Dinner Daily Lunch 11:30 am-3pm * Appetizers 11:30 a.m. -9 p.m By, VOqy Call 366-0087 * 366-0292 »* VHF Ch 16 ICE Dinner 6 - 9 pm “Kees — = jeu = services. 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