Black Immigrant Daily News

Hurricane Ian’s most damaging winds began hitting Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge after strengthening to the threshold of the most dangerous Category 5 status.

Fuelled by warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Ian grew to a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane overnight with top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm trudged on a track to make landfall north of the heavily populated Fort Myers area, which forecasters said could be inundated by a storm surge of up to 18 feet (5.5 metres).

“This is going to be a nasty nasty day, two days,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said early Wednesday, stressing that people in Ian’s path along the coast should rush to the safest possible shelter and stay there.

Ian’s centre was about 50 miles (80 kilometres) west of Naples at 10 am Wednesday, as it churned toward the coast at 9 mph (15 kph). Ian’s plodding pace meant the storm was expected to spend a day or more crawling across the Florida peninsula, dumping flooding rains of 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 centimetres) across a broad area including Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville in the state’s northeast corner.

An uprooted tree, toppled by strong winds from the outer bands of Hurricane Ian, rests in a parking lot of a shopping centre, Wednesday, September 28, 2022, in Cooper City, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Catastrophic storm surges could push 12 to (3.6 metres) of water or more across more than 250 miles (400 kilometres) of coastline, from Bonita Beach to Englewood, the hurricane center warned.

“It’s going to get a lot worse very quickly. So please hunker down,” DeSantis said.

Off the coast on Sanibel Island near Fort Myers, swirling water-covered residential streets and was halfway up mailbox posts by mid-morning. Seawater rushed out of Tampa Bay, leaving parts of the muddy bottom exposed, and waves crashed over the end of a wooden pier at Naples

More than 2.5 million people were under mandatory evacuation orders, but by law no one could be forced to flee. The governor said the state has 30,000 linemen, urban search and rescue teams, and 7,000 National Guard troops from Florida and elsewhere ready to help once the weather clears.

Florida residents rushed ahead of the impact to board up their homes, stash precious belongings on upper floors and join long lines of cars leaving the shore.

Some chose to stay and ride out the storm. Jared Lewis, a Tampa delivery driver, said his home has withstood hurricanes in the past, though not as powerful as Ian.

“It is kind of scary, makes you a bit anxious,” Lewis said. “After the last year of not having any, now you go to a Category 4 or 5. We are more used to the 2s and 3s.”

Forecasters predicted Ian would make landfall more than 100 miles (160 kilometres) south of Tampa and St. Petersberg, likely sparing the densely populated Tampa Bay area from its first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.

Officials warned Tampa residents that they still faced threats from powerful winds and up to 20 inches (50 centimetres) of rain.

“Please, please, please be aware that we are not out of danger yet,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a video on Twitter. “Flooding is still going to occur.”

During the night, Ian went through a natural cycle when it lost its old eye and formed a new one. The timing was bad for the Florida coast, because the storm got stronger and larger — 120 mph (193 kph) to 155 mph (250 kph) — with landfall just a few hours away.

The size of the storm also grew, with tropical storm force winds extending 175 miles (280 kilometres) from the hurricane’s centre.

“With the higher intensity you’re going to see more extensive wind damage,” University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy said. “The larger wind field means that more people will experience those storm-force winds.”

The most damaging winds could hit a coastline where the population has jumped sevenfold since 1970, according to the US Census. Authorities worried that many residents would ignore orders to evacuate.

Vinod Nair wasn’t taking any chances. He drove inland from the Tampa area Tuesday with his wife, son, dog and two kittens to a hotel in Orlando, where only tropical storm force winds were expected.

“You can’t do anything about natural disasters,” Nair said. “We live in a high-risk zone, so we thought it best to evacuate.”

Ash Dugney warily watched ocean water being sucked out below a Tampa Bay pier Wednesday morning. He said he didn’t trust Tampa’s storm drainage system to keep his corner tuxedo rental business safe from flooding that he said happened in his neighbourhood even during mild storms.

“I don’t care about the wind and the rain and the stuff like that, I just care about the flooding,” Dugney said, adding that he moved essentials out of the shop and moved other items up to above waist-high level.

Flash floods were possible across all of Florida. Hazards include the polluted leftovers of Florida’s phosphate fertiliser mining industry, more than 1 billion tons of slightly radioactive waste contained in enormous ponds that could overflow in heavy rains.

Forecasters placed roughly 120 miles (193 kilometres) of central Florida’s east coast under a hurricane warning Wednesday, signalling that Ian may remain a hurricane longer than previously expected as it moves inland.

Isolated tornadoes were spinning off the storm well ahead of landfall. One tornado damaged small planes and a hangar at the North Perry Airport, west of Hollywood along the Atlantic coast.

More than 190,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, and Florida Power and Light warned those in Ian’s path to brace for days without power.

Parts of Georgia and South Carolina also could see flooding rains and some coastal surge into Saturday. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp preemptively declared an emergency, ordering 500 National Guard troops onto standby.

Before turning toward Florida, Ian battered Cuba and brought down the country’s electrical grid, blacking out the entire island. It also caused destruction in Cuba’s world-famous tobacco belt. No deaths were reported.

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By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press

Associated Press contributors include Christina Mesquita in Havana, Cuba; Cody Jackson and Adriana Gomez Licon in Tampa, Florida; Freida Frisaro in Miami; Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Florida; Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Bobby Caina Calvan in New York and Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Finance Minister Colm Imbert –

The Employers’ Consultative Association of TT (ECA) said it acknowledges government’s modest attempts to rebalance the economy while attempting to address some long-standing issues, especially in the context of continued geopolitical tensions that are affecting commodity prices, fuelling inflation globally and threatening the recovery efforts of many economies.

In a release, the ECA said some of the aspects of the budget it liked included the projected budget deficit of $1.51 billion, the lowest deficit since 2015; the efforts to improve the ease of doing business and improving the business environment, especially the SME mentorship programme; the grant fund facility administered by ExporTT; the export booster initiative; the adjustment to the VAT registration threshold; the long-term loan guarantee scheme for SMEs; digitalisation of government services; and incentives for greater use of renewable energy in various sectors, including agriculture.

“Even as we acknowledge the importance of oil and gas to our economy, economic diversification and the creation of diversified, sustainable revenue streams is equally important if we are to improve our resilience against future commodity market shocks. In this regard, we commend the ongoing support to promote the development of the nonenergy sector, such as the manufacturing tax credit (up to a maximum $50,000) for companies investing in new machinery, production lines and equipment, and the establishment of the TT Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (TTTIPA).”

It commended the government for improving access to education through adjusting criteria for accessing GATE, as it said human-capital development is essential. It welcomed the promotion of apprenticeships through the School-to-Work Apprenticeship Allowance for businesses.

The ECA said the increase in personal tax allowance from $7,000 to $7,500 will have a direct benefit on low-income earners, who will stand to be most affected by the rising cost of living owing to inflation, fuel-price adjustments and the loss of income and jobs that many experienced during the past two years.

The organisation said it was concerned about several announcements in the budget, the most immediate of which was the unavoidable hike in fuel prices.

“This will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the population, especially given that this is the second increase in 2022, coming out of a difficult pandemic period for many.

“While we understand the high cost of subsidising fuel, we must also be cognisant of the social cost when fuel prices increase.” It said access to transport was a necessity and people “will need to make further sacrifices, some with already limited resources, to absorb the cost of this increase.”

The ECA said the protracted nature of ongoing public-sector negotiations is a continued area of concern.

It also said it was concerned over the continued escalation of serious and violent crimes that continue to plague both businesses and citizens.

“There is immense fear among the business community of operating beyond certain hours, which ultimately translates into a loss of taxable revenue for the State.

“It is also not useful to develop a national tourism product if safety and security is not assured.”

It said the efficiency of the VAT refund system remains unresolved, while the modernisation of labour legislation and labour market policies seems to remain on the backburner.

The ECA said there continues to be a fundamental disconnect between the education curriculum, the skills that employers and the future of business require, and the development objectives of the Government.

It said it looked forward to much more detail on specific allocations, programmes and initiatives as the budget debate ensues and supporting documents are released.

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Former head of the Public Service Reginald Dumas.

RETIRED head of the public service Reginald Dumas has advised the THA to establish a small board of people “considered impartial” to review contracts awarded for development initiatives in Tobago.

He gave the advice on Tuesday in response to concerns raised recently about the granting of contracts to Trinidad contractors within the past few months.

“We should have a small board looking at contracts that are awarded, because this has come up recently.

“It is all very well to have a forensic audit into certain things that the previous administration (PNM) did. But then the previous administration has lashed back and accused the PDP of doing the same thing,” he told Newsday.

Dumas suggested the establishment of what he called a small citizens’ body from outside the THA to review contracts being considered for award.

“The board will make the recommendations, because the decision rests with the executive council on whether such a contract should be awarded, and if so, to whom.”

He alluded to a recent allegation about a roofing company that was awarded a contract to construct roads.

“When you hear things like that, it raises a few questions, and I have not heard anything from the chief secretary on this matter. I would like to hear from him if this is true.

“And if it is, what is he going to do about it, because it is clearly a misuse, on the face of it, of taxpayers’ money.”

Dumas said the work of the board must not be about party politics but the development of the island.

He also called on the PDP-led THA to begin a series of public consultations with Tobagonians to discuss the island’s development. He said since the party won the December 6, 2021, THA elections and formed the THA, the members of the assembly have not met with the people.

Dumas said the assembly’s $2.521 billion allocation could be a good starting point for the discussions.

“I would like to see a consultation between the administration and the people of Tobago in a series of community meetings so they could hear suggestions, proposals in relation to the development of Tobago and how they might use the money more creatively and productively what they have received from central government,” he told Newsday.

After Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s presentation of the $57.6 billion budget in the Parliament on Monday, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said he was disappointed with Tobago’s allocation, as the THA had requested $3.97 billion in its June presentation.

Augustine said an increased allocation would have allowed the THA to pursue more projects.

Instead, he said the bulk of the allocation will again be used for recurrent expenditure – paying salaries and general upkeep of the THA divisions.

Of Tobago’s $2.521 billion allocation, $2.194 billion was set aside for recurrent expenditure, $300 million for the THA’s development programme, $18 million for URP and $9.2 million for CEPEP.

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