The warnings cannot be too many. We enter the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season this coming weekend with a forecast that we would all do well to bear in mind.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency in the United States that tracks weather and climate, the season is forecast to be extraordinary, with up to seven storms of Category 3 or higher expected.

Wire service reports tell us that Mr Rick Spinrad of the NOAA cited warm Atlantic Ocean temperatures and conditions related to La Nina weather phenomenon in the Pacific for the expected increase in storms.

Mr Spinrad reminded that climate change, due to human behaviour, was warming oceans and melting ice on land, leading to sea level rises that worsen storm surges.

“The forecast for named storms — hurricanes and major hurricanes — is the highest the NOAA has ever issued for the May outlook,” Mr Spinrad is reported as saying last Thursday as the agency forecast that between 17 and 25 named storms in total could develop with winds stronger than 39 miles per hour. Of that number, eight to 13 are forecast to reach hurricane strength.

As Mr Spinrad correctly pointed out, “It only takes one storm to devastate a community”. We in this region can relate to that as we have often had the bitter experience of homes, property, and infrastructure being devastated by extremely strong tropical cyclones that leave communities and, in some instances, entire countries without electricity and water for weeks.

While the NOAA forecast is not music to our ears, it provides us with information that we all should use to guide our actions to lessen or, in some instances, prevent disaster.

On the national scale we expect that the authorities here have already put in place disaster mitigation measures by ensuring that vital infrastructure, such as storm drains, are clear of debris; shelters are already assessed and necessary equipment acquired; and, we expect too, that the State will increase its public awareness programme in order to further influence behaviour change in how we plan and prepare for disasters.

We welcome news last month that the Government has secured financing of insurance coverage against named storms through a US$150-million catastrophe bond raised on the global financial markets by the World Bank on Jamaica’s behalf.

We note that this is the second time that the World Bank has raised funds in this manner for Jamaica which, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke has explained, will “ensure the availability of fiscal resources to enable an immediate response to emergency expenditures that could arise from a direct hit by a high intensity hurricane”.

Most encouraging is the fact the bond covers this year through to 2027 and, according to Minister Clarke, “complements other disaster risk financing instruments that we have in place”.

The Government deserves to be commended for securing this coverage. But just as important is the fact that every single Jamaican has a duty to take personal responsibility for their safety. That requires us to prepare for the worst as best we can.