Hurricane Ernesto update

It was standing room only at NEMO when I got to the office when I got there today. They held meetings at 6:30am, 2:00pm and one will be held at  8:00pm. The wind just picked up, we are getting lightening and it is looking like I am going to get wet on the way to the meeting tonight. My next Hurricane Ernesto update will be tomorrow morning.

Paul just came back from the store with more water, extra food supplies and an impulse by of an LED flashlight for $4.50 and batteries to go with it for $3.50 – not bad pricing.

Right now we are in phase 2  indicated by a Red flag 2 black dots. Phase 2 brings warning that there is 3rd phase potential within 24h. While at NEMO, I spoke to Frank Pantone and he said “we all need to work  together to make sure that everyone is ok, provide solid information and not cause panic.”  Although the storm seems to be tracking a bit further north, the hurricane model keeps changing, we are still within caution range and people should continue going about their preparations.

As I walked through town. I noticed some business closed in town were closed and a few people are boarding up but for the most part everyone was going about their day as usual. As it stands it is voluntary evacuation at this time and not mandatory.

I stopped by Tropic on my way home and talked to Wade, he verified that not many people were evacuating as of yet and it was passenger normal flow at Tropic Air. I called him just now to see if there were any new updates but hopefully no news is good news. I will touch base with him again after 10 am to get an update after their morning meeting and give you an update.

The following email came in from Director General of the Belize Red Cross while I was out.

As just reported by the Belize Meteorological Office, the system suggests that the storm will make landfall in Belize late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. It is expected to make landfall as a tropical storm or a possible Hurricane Cat 1. It is also possible that it may strengthen even more to a cat 2 before it makes landfall in Belize.