It’s already five days into the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has yet to release a comprehensive list of hurricane shelters.

The Department of Social Services, which is responsible for compiling a list of possible hurricane shelters, confirmed Monday that a total of 25 emergency shelters have been identified in New Providence and approximately 150 shelters throughout the Family Islands.

While these safe havens have been identified, a confirmed listing has not been made public.

NEMA, which is responsible for confirming and disseminating the approved shelters on the list, was contacted on Monday to provide some sort of answers as to why the disaster response agency had not yet released the list.

The Bahama Journal attempted to discover exactly why the list has still not been made public, but attempts to speak with Captain Stephen Russell were unsuccessful.

However, we were made aware by staff within NEMA that Captain Russell was in receipt of the list, but they could not confirm when he would review and disseminate it.

According to Chief Welfare Officer Earnestine King, the department has been in the process of compiling the list of possible shelters for quite some time.

She said a list was scheduled to be released to the public Monday afternoon.

But, that has yet to occur.

“The Department of Social Services is the government agency with primary responsibility for shelters in the event of a disaster such as a hurricane. We work in partnership with other government agencies and nongovernmental organisations to carry out the annual shelter inspections. This is a process that began a long time ago. Our listing of these shelters will be available to the media and other persons sometime today” she said on Monday.

Ms. King underscored the importance of Bahamians utilising the shelters during this year’s hurricane season.
“In the event that a storm hits it is very important for persons to take heed and seek appropriate shelter. If you feel that your home will be compromised, we encourage persons to really seek shelter. We have persons at these facilities that are trained in first aid procedures and to ensure that you remain said, with no loss of life, during a hurricane,” she said.

“These shelters are also outfitted with emergency hurricane supplies and for the most part these shelters are provided to ensure that no matter what persons are kept safe.”
Weather forecasters have predicted that the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season will be below average to normal.