Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: The best insight, instant feedback, accountability. The all new talk radio Freedom 106.5.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: This time we take you across to Tobago.
Joining us to give us an idea of what's going on is our colleague across in Tobago, CNC three reporter Elizabeth Gonzalez. Good morning to you and welcome to our program.
[00:00:31] Speaker C: Hi, good morning. I'm glad to be here.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: It's nice to have you with us here this morning. There's been a lot of anxiety, a lot of focus, monitoring and everything else on what's going on with Tobago. That press conference with the tha chief secretary held yesterday, and when he gave these statistics of what happened in 1963 with a category three hurricane and this one being category four, tensions were heightened. That's definitely the case. But let's get from you overnight into this morning and at this present time, what's happening in Tobago. With the passage of Hurricane barrel.
[00:01:09] Speaker C: Starting with overnight for me, and I'm sure for many tobiagonians, it has been a restless night. I have not slept. And I think that is because a lot of people on Thailand were bracing for air patrol, expecting to have it a bit earlier, around midnight. But there were some shorry spells and light winds, not really heavy winds.
I would have gone to Charlotteville. That is the community that was expected to be hit first. It actually started to experience some every Wednesday morning. But when I was there last night, the streets were, except for one area and community where there was a fisherman threatened.
And that apparently police attempted to shut down our home.
So it seems that as the people weren't really taking it seriously at that time, I went out to Scarborough after and all businesses were closed. It seems as the people on that side of the island were more serious about what was about to come.
Also spoke to head of Tobago operations, senior Superintendent Kirk Ruddhill, who said he was disappointed and even spoke about being appalled by a murder last night. Apparently a guy was shot in Mount Pleasant, Tobago, which pushed the island's murder to eleven for 2024. That is a 50% increase when compared to the same period last year. So aside from dealing with this storm, Tobago police had to respond to another murder. So he didn't die on the scene, he died at the hospital. But police remain on the scene to continue their investigations into the shooting. But this morning when I got up, rain started to go a bit heavier and by 630, the winds were strong.
I am getting galvanized and. And what is a bit scary and a bit thrilling for me is that when I look up in the sky, I am seeing hundreds of birds heading west and seems as though they are running from something and I believe that they are heading west because the hurricane is coming from east. So it seems that as though they are running from that side of the island.
[00:03:34] Speaker B: Yeah, we know that at this point in time, this is when the eye of the hurricane is expected to pass between Tobago and Barbados. So this is actually at this point in time is exactly when the worst of it should be affecting Tobago and Barbados. Is that what you're seeing at this point in time or.
[00:03:56] Speaker C: No, not at this point. I'm. According to the Tobago Emergency Management Agency director Alan Stewart, we should expect the worst happening in a couple of hours. I am seeing strong winds, we are having heavy rains, the winds are howling, but it isn't too severe where you see it fall on trees. I'm hearing galvanized rattle at the operation center where I am at, but nothing to really believe that we are at the worst of it from what I'm seeing. I don't believe that the worst has come.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: Yeah, there's information coming out and just came out from Tima about a fallen tree blocking the roadway at Honorsvale hotel and image or two coming out from Tima. But from what you're suggesting to us, it does not seem as though the worst has passed just yet. I.
And for whatever reason, the reports, both local and international, seem to get the timing off one way or the other because from midnight last night, people were expecting really, really bad weather because of what the forecasters were saying.
[00:05:11] Speaker C: Yes, we were.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: And that didn't come to pass. And you know, in this country we have a kind of an approach to things that God is at Trini and Tobagonia and everybody else.
[00:05:19] Speaker C: So people might be believed last night by Tobagonians who started to rejoice. And some of them we've been seeing that somehow the hurricane would have.
Unfortunately, as you could see, that is not the case this morning.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So it would have given people a false sense of security that. Well, you know, we were told this and it didn't happen. So we out of the woods and that's a dangerous thing for people to subscribe to because the worst of has not yet come to pass because of the changes with Hurricane Beryl over the past few hours.
The chief secretary spoke yesterday about the preparations by the Tobago House of Assembly and we know that additional soldiers have been sent across the Tobago to assist what's. And you said that there's very little activity taking place at this point in time. Tell us about some of the preparations overnight into this morning. When it comes to panic buying and so on. Was there a lot of that in Tobago? We saw some images with some shelves that were empty. What took place?
[00:06:28] Speaker C: Yeah, I think just a couple of hours before the press conference yesterday when it just. Apparently when I just started to settle it in the minds of Tobagoians, there were long lines at some of the major groceries on the island. Some of the groceries agreed to stay open just for a couple of hours so that people could pick up essentials. They were panic buying at the groceries. They were also panic buying at the gas stations. And there was a bus island.
I visited this carbohydrate yesterday where I met some people as well as many teenagers came to the island.
But the weekend for this island crushers event, one of the islands majority major event, and somehow they were left behind. So just, um. Any clue what would be the next step? I did ask chief secretary about it in the press conference and he said, um. Well, there was supposed to be a 06:00 p.m. so he said that he will send out officials at 06:00 p.m. on the fifth, so those who are left behind will be shuttled. It does, um, up to this morning, I have not been able to confirm how many of them are at ages because I did say we are looking at teenagers, children and where. Which shelters they are at.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Um. What about disruptions? Um, like power outages and so on?
[00:08:06] Speaker C: I have heard of reports of outages along the north and south and further in east down in Scanborough area.
I not received any reports of any power outages where I am at the operation center and there has been some dip in the power outages, but not for a long period. It's a brief diphthere, but that's about it where that is concerned.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So from the weather experience thus far, have there been any. Any reports of damages to homes and roofs and all these kinds of things thus far?
[00:08:49] Speaker C: I understand that there was a damage to a home in lowlands after a tree fell. That is still to be confirmed.
I. And then from what you would have mentioned, which is new to me, the incident at Arnold's Bailey. So my eyes are still on the ground. I visit the operation center just a couple of minutes ago and the reports are not coming. Large patches. I know that there is a report of a flood in somewhere, but nothing like any major landslide or anything of that sort.
[00:09:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
What about.
I monitored a bit of your interview with CNC three this morning and you said that there may be another briefing by the authorities. What's the latest on that?
[00:09:40] Speaker C: So we are not sure. They held an emergency meeting this morning. Head of the Tobago Emergency Management Agency is on his way to the operations center.
We are not sure where the chief secretary is, but we know that he will be here sometime during the day. The media is here waiting and everything is set up for another briefing. But we don't know what time. But the possibility of another briefing happening is highly likely.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: Okay, well, I guess that's basically all that we can discuss on this thing at this point in time. It's very much a wait and see what transpires because it is changing so quickly because Beryl went from a tropical wave, tropical depression, tropical storm into the hurricane categories and then went from category one, two, three to four in a very short space of time. And now it seems as though there are some changes with wind speed and everything else as well that will have some sort of impact on how burial impacts on Tobago and moving forward. So Elizabeth, I want to thank you for being with us here this morning and if need be, before it was my pleasure. Before the program ends at nine, we may touch base with you again to get an update of what's going on.
[00:10:57] Speaker C: No problem at all.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: And that of course, ladies and gentlemen, our colleague out of Tobago, CNC three reporter Elizabeth Gonzalez, giving us an update of what's going on. It seems very much that it still is the calm before the storm.
[00:11:14] Speaker A: The best insight, instant feedback, accountability. The all new talk radio freedom 106.5.
