More active Atlantic season likely, says NOAA

Even as Caribbean countries continue to actively work towards bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control through aggressive vaccination and public education campaigns, residents must also keep a watchful eye on the Atlantic hurricane season which started on June 1.

C&W Communications, part of Liberty Latin America, and operator of the Flow and BTC brands in the Caribbean, is reconfirming to the customers and communities it serves of the comprehensive preparation measures being put in place for the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has predicted a more active than normal season in their latest update on May 20, with the prediction of 13 to 20 named storms and 6 to 10 of those attaining hurricane status.

Inge Smidts, CEO, C&W Communications, said: “Connectivity continues to be a vital lifeline for this region. Our networks are enabling millions of customers to stay connected, and to continue to safely work and learn remotely in markets where face-to-face activities are still restricted. Our regional governments, healthcare systems and educational facilities are relying on our services to manage their operations in a new world of e-government, telemedicine, virtual meetings, and online learning. As a result, we rigorously test our networks to ensure that we have deployed the best technology and processes to face natural disasters, like hurricanes, across the region.”

Smidts continued: “Our teams are in their final stages of preparation for the 2021 hurricane season and have conducted a number of simulation exercises incorporating learnings from past seasons to improve upon our already hurricane-tested network. We are keenly aware of the reliance our customers and corporate clients have placed on the ability of our networks to keep them connected during previous devastating Atlantic hurricanes. We continue to be proud to play such a vital role across the region. We have invested in important redundancy capabilities across our vast sub-sea network and in our data centers located outside of the ‘hurricane belt’, which provide an additional layer of protection for connectivity in the region.”

At Flow Jamaica, Rhys Campbell, Director of Business Operations said preparations continue to ensure that all teams and systems are in a constant state of readiness to provide the required support for Jamaica.

“We have looked at our state of readiness and assessed our risks, given the possibilities of a hurricane while we’re in a pandemic,” Campbell shared. “In May, we conducted a multi-hazard simulation exercise with key external stakeholders to test the key operating areas of our business and we continue to monitor critical systems to ensure our preparedness for any major disaster,” he added.