Launch of the 2019 hurricane season

As every year from the beginning of June, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy are subject to cyclonic risks. The public authorities wish to reiterate the need for: everyone's commitment to preparing the island, in order to guarantee our security.

 

Individual and collective preparation

Ahead of the hurricane season, everyone must be aware of the mandatory safety instructions:

- cleaning their living space (pruning and decluttering their land, removing their waste) ,

- inspection of your home,

- awareness of vigilance levels

- emergency kit, water and food reserves food,

- choice of a secure place of retreat.

 

The Prefect and the President insist on the necessary involvement of all in order to guarantee your safety and that of others.

 

Alert to populations

Crucial point in crisis management, alert is carried out through several channels, tested several times:

- By an SMS alert emanating from the Prefecture to the communities, all institutions and stakeholders in the territory, by an SMS alert emanating from the Community, in its role of relaying the alert, to people who would like to subscribe to it.

- Physical alert: the territory has been divided into sectors, with those responsible for the alert in these areas via vehicle patrols: Gendarme, Border Police, Territorial Police as well as the use of megaphones and pre-recorded alert messages in French, English, Spanish and Haitian Creole

- On the social networks via the Facebook pages of the Prefecture or the Community, via the Twitter account of the Prefecture or via the My Saint-Martin application developed by the Community.

- By local media via sending press releases. The media are an essential relay of information for the population in the context of descending alert.

 

Three sirens of the SAIP system (alert and emergency siren information of the populations) will be installed in the territory from 2020.

 

Conducts to follow, evacuation instructions and shelters

Conduct instructions to be kept relating to alert levels can be consulted at the Prefecture and the Community as well as on their respective websites (www.saint-barth-saint-martin.pref.gouv.fr and www.com-saint-martin.fr) . A flyer, in the form of a “check list”, has been published to facilitate your preparation and the creation of this kit. The media, whose role in disseminating information is major, are invited to relay it.

During this hurricane season, 7 shelters with a capacity of 1,500 places are arranged equitably throughout the territory. A check of the solidity of the latter is planned, with the sole aim of being able to reassure the population about their reliability. To this end, the reports of these building experts will be communicated through the press.

The shelters can be viewed on the Community website and the My Saint-Martin application.

The Prefecture and the Community would like to jointly remind the population to find out about the shelter closest to their home and to respect this choice of proximity to limit the risks of undercapacity of certain shelters in in the event of a crisis.

An emergency radio, on the 91.1 FM frequency, can be activated after a major event and in the event of an outage on all networks.



Identification of vital points for the territory

The Prefecture and the Community have established a map of all the sensitive points of the territory (energy, commerce, banks, pharmacy, etc.) with the aim of organizing and projecting civil security and public security resources, before and after the event.

 

Public authorities, State and Community, have coordinated action in preparing for this season. They are mobilized and ready. It is therefore appropriate for everyone to ensure this preparation at their own level: cleaning, emergency kit, inspection of their home, awareness of levels of vigilance.

Everyone must feel concerned by these instructions and be an actor in its security.

 

*** Please find attached the press kit containing all the information concerning the 2019 hurricane season.