|
Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English |
Trump Charter Flight Arrives With 21 Deportees (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
US President Donald Trump was elected on the promise that he would enact mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. And that reality came home to Belize today, when, for the first time, 21 Belizeans were deported from the US on a charter flight.
It's not a huge deal - less than two dozen deportees on a jet with scores of them - but what's important for the Trump Administration are the optics and the messaging - which the Government of Belize appeared only too willing to play up to.
Our team was on the ground throughout and Courtney Menzies has this story.
21 Belizeans who had been living illegally in the US landed at the PGIA at 11:17 this morning. They came on a chartered Airbus 321 out of Louisiana with about 120 other passengers that were headed for Chile and Peru.
Most of the Belizeans were deported due to overstaying their VISA or illegal entry. One person was wanted for an attempted murder back in 2023. But during the entire process, the PGIA was under very heavy guard from the police department and the airport security - which meant that parts of the airport like the waving gallery were closed to the public.
After the plane landed, it was directed to a taxiway at the far western edge of the apron - far from the scrutiny of our lens - where the passengers deplaned and were processed by a team of Customs, Immigration and police who were set up in that area.
After two and a half hours of this they were placed on an old yellow school bus, which left the airport at 1:45. They were then taken to the Queen Street Police Station for further processing. Art least two of the persons were detained for questioning, while one was held pending attempted murder charges.
It's not the first time Belizeans have been deported since the start of the Trump administration - some have been sent back on commercial flights. However, this is the largest number of persons sent back at one time - and the first charter plane. The Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy explained that this method is more cost-effective and efficient. He also emphasized that these Belizeans weren't just pulled out of their homes and placed on a flight.
Luke Martin, Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy:
"So, it's not like they were just scooped up off the street and put on a plane. Everybody had the right to due process, went to court, had their hearings, had their appeals. So this happened through, you know, legal means for sure."
"This was not, you know, knocking down doors and walking to houses. These were people that were all in the United States illegally. The majority of them had crossed into the United States illegally, and then the rest of them were overstays, had visas, and they overstayed as well. And the majority of them did have some kind of, criminal offense in the United States as well."
And this charter flight is likely not the last that will come into Belize since the Trump Administration is cracking down on illegal immigration. And an event like this sends a message to Belizeans either living in the US or considering migrating.
Luke Martin, Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy:
"You know, in a lot of ways, this is a new message to Belize. I think other Central American countries have heard this before, through past administrations, that illegal immigration is not something that's tolerated. This is always been the law. So the difference is, you know, coming here, it's a different optic with a charter plane coming in and everybody notices it. It becomes big news. But still, illegal immigration is not something that has been tolerated. There's a zero tolerance policy. Again, due process, legal appeals. People have the right to do that for different reasons as well."
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you think that affects, though, the confidence between the two countries and the relationship that that they enjoy?"
Luke Martin, Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy:
"Do you mean between Belize and US? Well, again, cooperation, I mean, this was not a surprise. This is something that right from the beginning of this current administration, that the Belize government was like, yeah, absolutely. We will take Belizeans who have overstayed or in the United States illegally will take them back. The same way that if there's Americans that are in Belize that have overstayed their visa, that have criminal charges here, they're returned to the United States as well."
Courtney Menzies:
"Will we be seeing more of these types of flights - I mean, the amount of persons coming on these charter flights?"
Luke Martin, Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy:
"You know, I think my guess and I'm just saying a guest on this, yes. I mean, if the administration is moving towards charter flights, it's more cost effective to have a number of people rather than just one offs and two offs on regular United American flights coming here."
And many of the returning Belizeans have been in the US for years - some maybe almost their entire life. While it is not easy, they will have to re-adjust to Belize, having left their lives in the US.
It's the same for other migrants who have been deported, and Martin says that some even choose to self-deport.
Luke Martin, Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy:
"I did know that, so yesterday Honduras had one of the first regional flights, with people that self deported. You know, you've seen it reported that, you know, $1,000US is given to people that decide to self-deport. Flight provided and head back. And there were children and there were parents and families on that flight as well. And I do know that this administration is really pushing for self-deportation rather than, you know, something like this is difficult. And, if people are there illegally and they decide, yeah, it's time for me to get back to my family, my work in Belize, that self-deportation through the CBP home app is an a way to do it. And we just saw it in Honduras, and the reports were that it was effective and easy for them."
But now, there's mixed feelings among the wider Belizean public. However, one resident says that the stigma surrounding deportees needs to end.
Jose Alfredo Gomez, Resident:
"A lot of these people that are coming back are people that have been hard workers in the US, have paid their taxes. I don't know if they all have but I would assume that most of them."
"Stigmatizing these people I believe is not right, I have seen so many people criticizing our own Belizean brothers and sisters online. Please allow me to say something to our Belizean people: these people are most of the time highly skilled because they had to be motivated due to the types of jobs they had to do in the US and lost everything if they're being sent back unfortunately under the Trump administration. So my point again is, gentlemen, ladies, please welcome our Belizean people."
For context, Guatemala receives upwards of 18 charter flights per week.
Before this charter, about 5 Belizeans were being deported per week on commercial flights.
GOB Makes 7 Point Counter Proposal To Joint Unions (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
Coming out of Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde sent a formal response to the joint unions request for an 8.5% wage increase along with other demands.
We asked the Minister of the Public Service - who is part of government's negotiating team - to give us a broad outline:
Henry Charles Usher, NEMO Minister:
"Sure, the seven points are what we discussed in the meeting that we had with the joint union team last week. Those were the proposals that were put on the table. And as promised, we took those proposals to the cabinet and the cabinet approved the proposals, as you see see from the seven point letter that was delivered to the unions yesterday. We are waiting to see their response. I believe that they had a meeting last night. And we're waiting to see their response to those proposals."
"Is that a concern for the government that I believe the teachers are now at 14 days? I want to say. I think, yes, they did issue a notice last week when this or a week has passed. No, I believe that that was all part of their, you know, they had said that they would have certain steps that they would take. They would have to sit down, they would be going to level two, level three. But we hope that we don't get to level three. We hope that with these proposals that these proposals are accepted, that the membership of the PSU, the membership of the NMTU and all of the broader teachers, public officers that they can see that these are reasonable proposals, these are proposals that are sustainable. These are proposals that I promote of a a level of discourse, a respectful, a level of discourse around the table. And as I always say, it's it's always better to talk to each other than at each other."
To outline what's in the letter, it includes signing the General CBA Framework by June 18, disbursing overdue transfer grants, and a $6 minimum wage after consultations. A 3% salary increase will take effect in October, with another increment in financial year 2026â€"27. Talks on the remaining 5.5% raise are ongoing.
We asked Usher about the raise:
Henry Charles Usher, NEMO Minister:
"No, it's a 3%, salary adjustment starting in October and then in April or the start of the next fiscal year, the, unfreezing of one of the increments that were frozen during the Covid time. So, remember that there were two increments that were frozen. The unfreezing of one of those will be done, or is being proposed to be done, at the next fiscal year, starting, of course, April 1st, 2026 and then the remaining, conversation has to do with the 5.5% since three, is is being done in October and the second increment. So that is where further discussion is needed. And of course, you have to look at the performance of the economy. You have to look at the ability to be able to implement those salary adjustments going forward. But the idea and what we discussed around the table is that it will be done in three in a three year time frame,"
"This could have all been avoided if Stuart Leslie nevah seh, I gwen get this 18%, CEOs will this 15%. If you could turn back time or put the toothpaste back in the tube, which we know we can't do, would you have counseled against more restraint in going ahead with that. I like how you put that brother Jules, hindsight is 20/20 and I'm not a Monday morning quarterback. I won't go back and say we should have done this or should have done that differently. But what I can say is that if it was as simple as the CEO salaries, then if the one item on the agenda when we met around the table we'll remove the salary increase of CEOs, and that should have brought us back to a level playing field. So certainly that was not the intention of government. When we met with the unions, we met with them because we wanted to have a sustainable way in terms of looking at the salaries in the public service, salaries to public officers and teachers."
GOB Proposal Includes COLA Adjustment (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
Government. also includes in its proposal a feature that's called a COLA, not the kind you drink, but a Cost of Living Adjustment.
Usher explained:.....
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service
"Another bullet point is the bullet point that speaks about the cost of living adjustment. And looking at the consumer price index to see how it is that we can have a formula to look at salaries every year, that looks at the CPI, that looks at a cost of living adjustment, maybe every every year, every two years, whatever is agreed upon, so that we don't get to a situation where you have areas of, of the public service or teachers or anybody saying, well, we want this increase, we want that increase. We know that an increase is coming because it's based on a formula. Included in that discussion was looking at other areas that we can properly compensate our public officers, perhaps looking at housing initiatives, looking at different areas that they can benefit from. We can't always meet a numerical figure, but we can always try to work with our public officers, with our teachers, with all of the public service, to see how we can properly compensate"
The joint unions are expected to meet tomorrow to discuss government's proposal.
Ten Commissioners Objected To PCC Final Report, Minister Says They Got It Twisted (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
We've reported on the ten commissioners of the PCC who have written to the prime minister rejecting the report that was sent to him. These commissioners say they were never allowed to see the report before it was sent and they take issues with several of the recommendations.
Today we asked the Minister of Public Service - and former Minister of Constitutional Affairs - about his thoughts. Unlike the current Constitutional Affairs Minister, Henry Charles Usher- who is known as a hard-liner - put the blame entirely on the commissioners, insinuating that they wanted their own personal views to be reflected in the report, rather than the sectors they represent. Here's what he told us.
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service
"Well, I think that, first, I'm happy to see that there was a report prepared with 167 recommendations. It was delivered to the Prime Minister. And now that with the amendment that we're attempting to get through to increase the time we have to look at those 167 recommendations. Remember, this initiative, called the People's Constitution Commission, was to hear the views of the people, was to hear the views of the Belizean people at home and abroad, because they actually had an opportunity to reach out to the diaspora. It wasn't necessarily to hear the views of the commissioners. And that's what they were. They were they were told from the very beginning your views, your personal opinions. You have to put aside. You are merely a conduit for the people to talk to the government. It has always been a situation where the people say, oh, the government is not listening to us. Well, we're giving you a direct opportunity now to talk to the government directly through this conduit called the People's Constitution Commission. The views and opinions, the passion projects of the commissioners were not supposed to be in that report. If they wanted it to be in the report, they should have had somebody in the public raise it at one of the consultations."
Jules Vasquez
"However, so then you must take issue with the National Women's Commission and the National University, who are two signatories of the letter. They are functionaries of the government."
Henry Charles Usher
"No, I don't take issue with them. I just think that they perhaps misunderstood what they were there to do, that they were not there to say what is the position of the National Women's Commission? They were not there to say, what is the position of the national university? They were there to say, okay, we went to so many consultations countrywide, including, an online version with the diaspora, and this is what they are seeing. And this is what is in the report now in terms of their procedural issues, I can't comment on that because I don't I wasn't a part of it in terms of how the whatever got into report got there in terms of where it came from."
Transport CEO Tours Dilapidated And Dysfunctional Bus Terminal (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
Turning now to transport - one of the most telling dysfunctions of our society is the woeful state of public transport. WE've discussed and displayed the failings of the operators many times, but the terminals - which are managed by the state - are no better. They are dilapidated, dysfunctional and decaying daily.
Well, Chester to the rescue, but can he fix it?
The CEO for the Ministry Of Transport is on a countrywide bus terminal tour in an attempt to improve the quality of these terminals for end users which includes workers, students and tourists. Jomarie Lanza met with him today at the busiest hub, the Novelo's bus terminal and he shared more details on the tour and what he hopes to get out of it:
There is a heavy flow of human traffic through these bus terminals on a daily basis, from GOB workers to school children, and there is often no guarantee or certainty as to whether or not the next bus will arrive or depart on time. And that's just one of the many flaws in the transport system that the CEO hopes he can correct in the near future.
Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Transport
"Basically we are on a familiarisation tour, myself along with my senior managers from the ministry. What we are looking at is to see the infrastructure of the terminals. We have been in the southern part of the country, we have also been in the west and so we are in the eastern part of the country now. Looking at the infrastructure that the ministry has in this area. As you would know the terminal is very important for commuters a number of persons pass through the terminals everyday commuting to and from work and so basically we want to make sure that the terminal is in a state of cleanliness looking at the bathroom facilities we know that these bathrooms are used daily by women and some cases pregnant women we want to make sure that it is conducive for them to be able to use we also looking at the other ibfrasnture seating facilities and so forth for persons who are waiting for the bus to go about their business and I have also said to the chief transport officer under whose portfolio the terminals fall to ensure that we develop a system where we can have within the terminals screens and these screens are going to display the schedule of busses so that when a person comes to the terminal they can go to the screen and see what time the buses are going to leave and which bus will leave at what time and that way they can schedule more or less how they want to commute or which bus company they want to use to go home. And so its a matter of making sure we upgrade the system that we currently have. We cannot continue to work in such a way that things are done so haphazardly. People don't know what bus run and what time and these sorts of things we have to regularise things and that is one of the projects we are currently working on at this time."
All the terminals are in need of not just an upgrade but some sort of structure and organisation, and of course that can't happen at just the snap of a finger. CEO Williams says that it is a process, one that involves cooperation between stakeholders to find the funding for it.
Chester Williams
"Well certainly what we are looking at now is a short term plan as you would the minister is currently going around promoting the new system that we would want to implement hopefully at the beginning of next year, one national bus company. with that it should be bringing with it new terminals and we are hoping that is going to be a part of the package and if not new terminals then significant upgrades to the current terminal again as the minister has said that we are looking at a PPP project and if that does materialise then we can see significant upgrades to the terminals as well."
CEO Finding Funding For Terminal Upgrades (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
And with all the bus terminals he has visited, CEO Williams says that he finds that each one is in need of infrastructural works. He says in order for them to take on these upgrades they will have to collaborate with the Ministry Of Infrastructure And Development:
Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Transport
"Yes I have from my tour of the south and the west, I think the best terminal I have seen is the one in independence. That terminal is in very good condition. Yes, Belmopan's terminal is not too bad either but it does need some work and so I have given some directive to see what we can do to upgrade. We do have funds that are collected at the terminals everyday as you would know that persons pay for the use of the bathrooms and from the use of bathrooms we are collecting close to I think 60k monthly and so I have had a discussion with the financial secretary to see if we can get back some of those monies that we are collecting from the use of bathrooms to maintain the facilities and we have agreed that it will be done. Again it's a matter of ensuring we provide adequate service for people I have not really gone into the Belize City one but from where I stand I can see that there is work that needs to be done and even in the compound itself we need to see how we can upgrade it to pave it as the case may be, Belmopan one, one of the things people complain of is that when the buses arrive there are some of the buses that keep running and the fan from the engine just have the dust blowing in people's face so that can be very unsanitary for people and so I have spoken to the CEO in the Ministry of Infrastructure yesterday, Mr Victor Espat and he has agreed in principle to see what he can do to help us to improve that, if they can pave inside the terminal area it will alleviate the dust that affects people daily when they go to the terminal. And so there are a number of things we need to do to ensure we upgrade the service that we offer."
Chester Meets With Taiwanese And Establishes Path To Restoring BMVRLS (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Transport
And while he's trying to get a massive overhaul started for the bus stations - on the software side, CEO Chester has now met with the Taiwanese to try and restore the Belize Motor Vehicle Registration and License System. That's the platform which is the backbone for the Transport Department's driver's licenses. As we told you last night, the ministry had failed to keep current with its payments for use of the program - so it stopped working.
But the program was launched in 2018 with the Taiwanese Embassy, and the CEO met with them today to rectify the issue. He was encouraged by the outcome:
Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Transport
"The meeting went extremely well with the Taiwanese embassy. I was extremely happy to see that the ambassador herself took the lead from the embassy standpoint in making sure that we were able to have this very good discussion this morning and I am very optimistic that the system should be brought up very shortly. I have explained to them that we do have the monies on hand to be able to pay the sum owed. And again I see on social media some people are asking why don't we seek local developers to develop the program just for clarity of the Belizean people the system that we currently have was donated by Taiwan, Taiwan paid for it even the monies that we had that were supposed to be paid to the developers the money also came from Taiwan. So this comes at no cost to the Belizean government if we were to go and seek local developers to develop such a program we would be paid in the millions for such a program. So it is best that we try to bring up what we currently have again. It is not going to take much, it's just paying what we owe and then go back to the drawing board with the developers and explain to them basically what we want the system to do. And speaking with the chief transport officer and his people they are saying that they want additional features to be added to the system and so I have tasked them yesterday to come together, discuss and come up with a plan in terms of what exactly we want the system to do so that when we meet with the developers, because we are hoping that they would be able to come to Belize very shortly, we will be able to say to them exactly what we want. If we are trying to see if we can have a virtual meeting with the developers. And again we were lucky to have been told that those persons who have been involved with the development of the system in 2017 still works with the company that deals with the system so them being there still imbedded in the company that is good for us because they know the system they know what they will need to do and so if they can communicate with CITO and try to bring the system up virtually then we can begin to print driver's license hopefully within the next two weeks. If that is not done then the alternative route is for them to come to Belize to see what would need to be done to get the system up and running but I am very optimistic that they should be able to resolve the issues within a month's time."
Until Driver's License Platform Is Restore, Hold On To Your Receipts (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
But, for the month or so that it will take to get the system back up and running - Chester advises - hold onto your receipts! :
Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Transport
"As I have said yesterday that I have told the traffic wardens that we will have to accept the receipts when it is produced at the checkpoint by drivers the police are also aware of that the municipal traffic are also aware of that and so the persons who have paid for their renewal of drivers license and don't have it we just encourage them to keep their receipts on them when they go on the road if they arrive at a check point of police or traffic. Produce the receipt just to indicate that they have paid for the renewal and they should be good to go."
The driver's license software in towns and cities run independently of the National Transport system so those continue to be functional.
With IDB Support, Belize Joins Global Network Of Weather Stations (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
Belize is one of the first countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to launch the Systematic Observations Financing Facility, an initiative led by the world meteorological organization and the UNDP.
It's a system that shares weather and climate data with a global network to enhance early warning systems and climate services.
To be a part of that, Belize will upgrade its weather station in Punta Gorda. We gathered more details at the launch:
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of NEMO
"(SOFF) is a facility, will allow us to better train our officers, build capacity, but also invest in equipment needed to be able to have accurate, timely data for weather. And it's very critical when it comes. We're approaching hurricane season now. All of these initiatives should be in place, well, for next year. But the idea is to allow Belize to be a part of the global network of weather data sharing. We are actually the first in the region, in Latin America and the Caribbean to be able to lead the way with SOFF."
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist
"So the whole objective or one of the main objectives of the systematic observations financing facility which we shall call SOF from now on is to ensure that all across the globe there is an adequate coverage of weather observations. Let me break it down now, the numerical weather prediction modules that people rely on that produce weather forecasts and tell you where the hurricane is going, those modules need to have data for them to produce a forecast. They can run without the data but the forecast is going to be erroneous, hugely erroneous. If you don't know where you are now then you don't know where you are going and that's what weather observations are, what you have now putting it into a module and the module does its thing and gives you the future so for these things to work, global modules means you have to have coverage globally right there cannot be any breaks because where there is a break there will be errors so now we are ensuring countries across the world including Belize are contributing into that network. Previously we had one station, the one here at the MET service was doing that and even so we had limitations with that, with this project we are going to have 2 stations. We are going to enhance the station here plus we are going to have a station in Punta Gorda which we currently have as well but that station is going to be equipped and fit to the standard that it can transmit data globally."
Through this program, the National Meteorological Service of Belize will benefit from grant funding totaling 1.5million Belize dollars through the IDB.
Can The MET Office Bridge The Social Media Gap? (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
And while at least two weather stations are now significantly upgraded - the National Meteorological Service operates in a highly competitive social media landscape - driven by information more than accuracy.
They have struggled to keep up with those offering weather forecasts on YouTube and other platforms. Gordon conceded it is a challenge:
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist
"It is a challenge. It is a humongous challenge, I would say. And it's not, like you said, it's not only us. I was at the recent hurricane committee meeting in El Salvador where we discussed these type of things. What you have sometimes is you refer to them as pseudo meteorologists, right? So these are some of the challenges that we have. And of course, I think one of the main thing is, like you said, people are hungry for information. I don't want to say they're bored, but the more sensational the story, the more hyped up it is. They get it, they share it. I think it goes out viral. And what we have to do a lot is counter that. And you rightly said, we have, we are limited in resources. We don't have a whole PR, We'd need a whole section dedicated to countering misinformation and also to ensure that we are we are on social media, like you said, we need to catch up and ensure that we have the information to so that we can, people can know. Well, you know what? I didn't see it on the Met Service Twitter page or X, or Facebook page. So I won't study it."
"We have a stake in it. So if you go to another source, people on YouTube, I'm not going to call anybody name. But that person does not have a stake. If he gives you a wrong forecast, he's not liable, right? You cannot go back to him and say, you know what? You messed up, man. You caused my family to get into a situation because he's not liable. But you could come back to us. And I know you will because the media will comeback to us. So that is the reason why we say, focus on your official source of information."
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of NEMO
"I think what is important is that, number one, as you rightly said, there seems to be a gap in the way information is distributed or disseminated to the public. So it's important to invest in that type of technology as well. Recently the MET department launched an app and that app is only available on Android for right now, but it will be available on other platforms very soon. That is only one way we are looking at it. Of course, the media plays an important role in the dissemination of the information. But I think what is also important is that the information that is being shared is information that the people feel that they can rely on, and that's why it's important to have the information as early as possible, as accurate as possible, so that we know, for example, if a hurricane is approaching, we do not have to evacuate the entire coastline. We know more or less where it will cross, what are the areas that will be affected. And we have enough of a warning for those persons to be able to evacuate or to go to shelter, or to shelter in place. But I think that is those are the two main areas, the timeliness of the information, the accuracy of the information and if you want to add a third, the information being disseminated in every form possible."
Through this program, the National Meteorological Service of Belize will benefit from grant funding totaling 1.5million Belize dollars through the IDB.
What's The Forecast For The 2025 Hurricane Season (posted on Thu May 22, 2025)
And for the upcoming hurricane season, Belizeans will depend on the Met service. The chief Met Officer went to Cabinet yesterday to brief them on what looks to be an above average hurricane season. Usher told us more:
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of NEMO
"As a matter of fact cabinet was just briefed on Tuesday by the director of the of NEMO the, national emergency coordinator, and by the chief MET officer on what is expected is an above normal season. I think that the normal season calls for 14 named storms. They're expecting 16 or 17 named storms. I think the normal season calls for four major storms. I think they're expecting 5 or 6 major storms this, this particular season. So it will be an above-normal season. But I think what is important. Some weeks ago, NEMO actually launched an early warning system that there was a launch of that facility and that initiative, and that to me is critical because that is what you need. You need to be able to get that accurate information early enough so that you can have proper planning. Now, in terms of all of the different committees that NEMO oversees, those committees are headed by different government departments. We're in the process of getting all the reports from those committees so we can have our plan in place. Recently, we also launched The national disaster risk management plan. This is something that the NEMO and the legislation calls for it to be updated every year. We're happy to be able to have that comprehensive plan in place. Now, as you rightly said, the father of the nation was the first, minister responsible for NEMO. NEMO is now in its 25th year celebrating 25 years. And it's important that the public has confidence in NEMO, confidence in the work that it's doing, and confidence in all the different departments and organisations responsible for the disaster mitigation."
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist
"Certainly In terms of the forecast, we have two agencies so far that have come out with their official forecast for the season. One of them is going for a normal season, which is 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Then the Colorado State University, based on the numbers I recall, are going for 17 named storms that's tropical storm or higher, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes. So if you look at those numbers and compare what we had last year, which is about the same, you're predicting something similar to last year, which was above normal but not super active, but yes, above normal. Now, in terms of our own local expectations, if it is a normal season, there's a higher chance that we can have a storm coming our way now. I always say to the public seasonal predictions are only useful to give you an overall picture of what's going to be happening. What you need to do is monitor the day to day activity. Look at the outlook for each day, look at what's developing, and of course, monitor what's coming towards us and of course, I always say focus on the official source of information and I don't say that because we are perfect I say this for one thing I said this morning on one of the talk shows, we have a stake in it. So if you go to another source, people on YouTube, I'm not going to call anybody name but that person does not have a stake. If he gives you a wrong forecast, he's not liable, right? You cannot go back to him and say, you know what You messed up, or get into a situation because he's not liable, but you could come back to us. And I know you will because the media will come back to us. So that is the reason why we say focus on your official source of information."
NEMO, the MET Service and the National Hydrological Service to host a media training session next week. And the National Disaster Preparedness and Response Advisory Committee will meet on 29th May in preparation for the 2025 Hurricane Season.
Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us
|
Email
Print