St. John's emergency management team leaders feel that they were well prepared for Hurricane Lenny — in part because the passage of Tropical Storm Jose in October served as a good dry run.
Because Jose was a tropical storm when it came by the island, Lenny is the only hurricane to threaten St. John this year, Alvis Christian, V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency deputy director for St. John, noted.
"We're in pretty good shape," Christian said as preparations wrapped up for Lenny's arrival. "Coming from Jose now to Lenny everyone nows basically what has to be done."
Christian, who has headed emergency management services for St. John since 1997, led the local first-response team at the time of Hurricane Georges in 1998, as well as with Jose last month.
In the hours before Jose's approach, Christian and St. John administrator Julian Harley fine tuned plans and preparations with representatives from the Police, Public Works, Human Services and Housing, Parks and Recreation Departments as well as the Myrah Keating Smith Clinic. Their primary objectives were ensuring that the island's three emergency shelters were in readiness and meeting the needs of elderly residents who might need help with transportation.
Christian said in the month since Jose's passing, he conducted follow-up meetings with representatives of the cooperating departments and agencies to clear up issues raised in October.
One of those issues was overflowing trash bins in the aftermath of the storm. Harley noted that planning made it possible to set up pre-storm trash collection this time, as well as to arrange accommodations for off-island police and other emergency personnel to be stationed on St. John for the duration of Hurricane Lenny.
"We're doing pretty good. We're holding our own," he said.
