As I address you, we are just over 24 hours away from experiencing the beginning of what is expected to be the ferocious impact of Hurricane Igor.

We have all heard the reports from the Bermuda Weather Service that this storm will be a long and punishing one and the potential for injury and physical damage is great.

It is my sincere hope that you and your families take the remainder of today to finalise your hurricane preparations, by securing your homes, your property and ensuring that you have adequate supplies.

Earlier this morning the Emergency Measures Organisation met to get the latest update on Hurricane Igor and the status of preparations by the security forces and essential services.

I want to take this opportunity to assure the people of Bermuda that your Government is doing everything possible to ensure our preparedness prior to and post the storm.

There is no doubt that in the immediate aftermath of the storm, there will be a heightened level of activity with members of the public wishing to check on the wellbeing of their friends and family, and the status of their property.

I want to caution you though, that this will be a critical period of assessment by our Emergency Services personnel, such as Fire, Police and the Bermuda Regiment.

From a public safety stand point I am urging members of the public to refrain from travelling the roads to explore any damage that may have been caused. It will be imperative that a full assessment by our emergency teams is done as quickly as possible.

Let me take a few minutes to touch on some very critical points that residents should be aware of as the storm approaches.

• By late Sunday night, the worst of the storm will begin. It will be at its closest point of approach at 2:00 am Monday morning. We can expect sustained winds of up 90 knots and potential gusts of 110 knots.

The L. F. Wade International Airport is currently open, but it is anticipated that it will close late Saturday afternoon. It is expected to reopen on Monday following an assessment of the runway and the airport facility by the Department of Airport Operations.

• Weather conditions around the Causeway are being monitored. It is anticipated, that in accordance with established protocol, closure of the Causeway will be coincident with the onset of 50 knot Easterly winds. Currently that is forecast for Sunday afternoon. Once a decision is made to close the Causeway, the public will be notified in advance of its closure.

• Residents in low lying areas and who live along the water should be prepared for storm surge flooding and have already been contacted to make the necessary preparations to secure their properties.

• The Ministry of Culture & Social Rehabilitation has prepared and equipped the emergency shelter at CedarBridge Academy. As of 5:00 pm today (Friday), members of the public seeking shelter can begin making their way to this facility.

• The KEMH has reported all is in readiness. The Lambe Foggo Urgent Care Centre will be operational. Nurses and a physician will be on duty at the facility. KEMH ambulances will also be stationed at the facility. The St. John Ambulance Brigade is also deploying an ambulance in St. George.

• Hotels and guest properties are in hurricane preparedness mode and have contingency plans in place. The Bermuda Department of Tourism is monitoring the approaching storm and is continuously liaising with the Bermuda Hotel Association to ensure that visitors have the latest information.

• The Government’s Emergency Assistance Organisation (EAO) will be ready to assist once the storm has passed. Please call the EAO at 292-6325 or 292-6339, should you require emergency help after the storm.

• The Bermuda Electric Light Company and the telecommunications companies have contingency plans in place to begin restoring service following the passage of the storm should that be necessary.

• There is a partial embodiment of elements of the Bermuda Regiment, and those soldiers are asked to report to Warwick Camp as ordered on Sunday. All remaining soldiers should be on standby for possible embodiment after the storm.

• The Bermuda Reserve Police are on standby for embodiment.

• The Emergency Broadcast station at 100.1 FM is the official source for information regarding the Hurricane as necessary just prior to, during and after the storm.

• The EMO will meet again on Monday after the passing of the storm to further update the public on any developments.

• The Ministry of Education wishes to advise that all Government Schools will be closed on Monday during the storm and Tuesday to allow a full assessment of schools prior to reopening.

• At this stage Government Offices will close on Monday.

• Government House has advised that a Royal Navy frigate will be on standby off Bermuda during the storm and will enter port following to lend assistance.

Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to commend the residents on their strength of spirit and courage, during what can easily be described as a challenging time for our Country. I also want to commend – you – the media for providing balanced and accurate information on this storm and encouraging our residents to take the threat seriously.

In recent years, we have witnessed the awesome power of Mother Nature and the devastation that hurricanes inflict on countries and communities.

None of us will soon forget Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans and areas along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and South Florida in 2005.

Closer to home, we’ve experienced our own challenges with the unforgettable Hurricane Emily – 24 years ago and Hurricane Fabian in 2003.

Following each of these disasters, we came together as one to assist in rebuilding our communities.

And it is my genuine belief, that should we sustain serious damage in the wake of this storm, we will rally together once again to ensure that our Island is up and running as swiftly as possible.

It is also in this spirit of unity that I ask you to be mindful of your neighbors, seniors in particular and look out for one another during this testing time for our Island.

I would now like to invite Dr. Guishard to the podium to provide you with specifics on the weather.

Thank you.

This storm is one that should be taken extremely seriously – as the Minister has already stated, the threat is high. A Hurricane Watch is already in effect. We at the Bermuda Weather Service, in consultation with the US National Hurricane Center, will be issuing a Hurricane Warning this afternoon. this Warning is issued whenever hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours.

If there is any doubt, let me make a few basic comparisons – Hurricane Fabian in 2003 was a Category 3 when it made a direct hit on Bermuda – this storm, Hurricane Igor is also forecast to be at or near Category 3 intensity when it moves close to Bermuda on Sunday night.

Fabian had a wind swath at the equivalent time frame 2 days before the CPA, of about 110 nm in diameter. The swath of Hurricane Force winds associated with Igor is currently approximately 150 nautical miles across. The tropical storm force winds (otherwise known as gales in winter storms) extend some 500 miles across the storm’s diameter (Fabian’s were 350nm). So, not only is Igor of similar intensity to Fabian, it is actually bigger, making us an even more likely target. Make no mistake, even if the center of this system misses the island, we will experience significant impacts.

The current forecast is indeed for a direct hit on the island, the worst case scenario in these situations. Accordingly, we should prepare for sustained winds of on the order of 100 knots (115 mph), with gusts to 120 knot or 140 mph. Again, this is comparable to the wind speeds we experienced during Hurricane Fabian in 2003.

The baseline level of the water (without putting wind driven waves on top of
it) is what we refer to as storm surge, and it is expected to be on the order of 5 to 7 feet above the normal tide levels. high tides through the weekend are in the pre-dawn hours and early evenings, low tides are generally near noon and midnight. I must reiterate the comments of the Minister – if your property is prone to surge, then it will likely have some inundation during this event.

Analyses of the wave heights associated with Igor indicate that the maximum waves at the centre of the storm are in excess of 50 feet. Already we are starting to see large swells on the south shore in advance of the approach of Igor. Expect rip currents and battering waves on the reefline, and potentially dangerous surf at the beaches.

Rainfall is always of concern and isolated road flooding is to be expected.

Of course with all tropical systems, which are intensely rotating, there is the potential for the spin up of tornado activity, which we saw in both Hurricane Fabian, and in Category 1 Hurricane Emily in 1987. In recent years, we have seen tornado activity associated with outer rain bands – Hurricane Florence in 2006 and Hurricane Bill last year are examples of this. The point I am making is that even in advance of the worst conditions, we could see some severe weather affect the island several hours before the onset of worst conditions.

Regarding levels of certainty, computer models on which we base these forecasts have been not only consistent with each other, but also consistent through time, in saying that we will have an impact from Igor. However, one of the very reasons that we treat tropical systems with such caution is their ability to make sudden changes in track and intensity – hence, as with all tropical systems, there is uncertainty inherent in this forecast. We all hope and pray that Igor will veer a little further away than is currently forecast, but we must take all action now to prepare to safeguard life and property.

Please have a plan of action to protect your life, your family, your property and your business. If you have a plan, please implement it now – Saturday evening will be too late to make any further preparations – as I have already said in previous media statements, this is not the time to be complacent. Be safe and god bless.

The breakfast briefing was held at Camden House and was attended by senior Bermuda and UK Government officials and executives from reinsurance and financial services in Bermuda.

The atmosphere was cordial and informal. By agreement, the discussions were off-the-record. Guests agreed that the meeting was very useful as a necessary interchange between partners.

Topics ranged from Bermuda’s unique role as a successful and credible leader as a financial services centre, despite its size; the necessity for Bermuda to ensure that independent observers comment favourably on Bermuda’s reputation; the importance of Bermuda having its own voice, despite the oversight role of the UK; and shared assessments of the continuing impact of the global recession on Bermuda and its partners.

Other guests at the breakfast briefing were: His Excellency, Sir Richard Gozney (Governor); Hon. Paula Cox (Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance); Philip Butterfield (HSBC Bermuda); Julian Cusack (Aspen Re); Peter Durhager (RenRe); Evan Greenberg (ACE); Peter Hinchey (Secretary to Secretary Miliband); Darren Johnston (KPMG); Brad Kading (ABIR); Don Kramer (ArielRe); Mike McGavick (XL); Arnold Minors (Press Secretary); Cheryl Packwood (BIBA); Donald Scott (Financial Secretary); and Alan Thompson (Butterfield Bank).

In November 2007, The Business Technology Division of the Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Ministry of the Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce announced the successful bid to host the WITSA Global Public Policy Summit (GPPS) in Bermuda in 2009.

Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce the Hon. Michaels Scott said: “I am excited to see this conference come to fruition here in Bermuda. With delegates and speakers from organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the OECD, the World Bank and others, the importance of the conversations and exchange of information will be beneficial not only to our community but the world.”

Ronnie Viera from the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce said, “The final countdown has started and in a few days, the Business Technology division of the Chamber of Commerce will be welcome 150 people from 10 countries and as far away as Japan. We are truly excited that the time has finally arrived after 2 years of hard work.” Mr Viera went on to say, “In addition, we are pleased to be bringing so many people to the Island in a year when there have been many challenges in the tourism and retail sectors. Obviously an event such as this would not be possible without sponsors and I am very grateful to our sponsors who have been so supportive, in particular, our pinnacle sponsor, Keytech Ltd.”

WITSA is a consortium of more than 70 information and communications technology (ICT) industry associations from economies around the world. WITSA members represent over 90 percent of the world ICT market.

The Business Technology Division (BTD) decided this would be an appropriate initiative to coincide with Bermuda’s 400th anniversary and to showcase Bermuda’s success of using ICT to enhance global business.

In effort to involve young people in the conference, there will be 75-100 (15-18) year old students from Cedarbridge academy, The Berkeley Institute and private schools who will be attending the session on “does environmental policies hamper growth and can enlightened policies and Involvement Bridge the gap?” The students will be undertaking relevant research and having classroom discussions prior to attendance. After the conference the students will be expected to apply what they learned at the summit in follow-up discussions and in some cases future projects related to environmental issues and ICT.

Of particular note is a joint initiative between the Government of Bermuda, WITSA and Field Fisher Waterhouse, who will be hosting a session where the unique concept of Binding Safe Processor Rules (BPSR) will be introduced. The BPSR is a set of internal data protection rules that apply to clients’ data processed by service providers. This session hopes to discuss the concept and work with interested institutions and other international stakeholders to undertake the development of such a model. If the model meets the requirements of the EU data protection authorities, this could provide significant benefit for multi-national corporations and institutions sending data to the EU.

Unique as well, to the Bermuda event, The G-20 ICT Policy Network project team and WITSA will briefly present information on the G20 ICT strategic initiative and one of the lunch time key notes will be presented by the World Bank who will speak about “Trade Facilitation in a Post-Crisis World”.

The Bermuda WITSA GPPS 2009 Organising Committee will also be inviting conference delegates from overseas to actually plant a tree to offset their carbon footprint created by their travel to Bermuda.

The WITSA Global Policy Summit has attracted high profile speakers from some of the most influential organisations in the World relating to Information Technology policies and practices. In addition to the business sessions, there will be several networking opportunities during the various social events which will be held over the 4 day period.

Sheila Lines, CEO of KeyTech said, “The KeyTech group is proud to be the pinnacle sponsor of the WITSA conference. The WITSA conference is a real benefit to Bermuda as it underscores Bermuda’s position as a global player in IT and technology readiness. KeyTech understands the importance of IT to businesses around the globe – we are a technology company focused on providing the best of Bermudian communications technology through our sister companies LOGIC, M3, BTC and Cable Co. WE are looking forward to introducing industry leaders to our staff at this conference and encourage others to do the same.”

There are many local delegates attending the summit sessions, however, for those in the local business community who do not yet have tickets, time is running out. Please visit the summit website at www.gpps2009.bm to register as soon as possible.

The article states that the company will transfer its hedge fund operations to offices in Cincinnati and Boston. Many of the 27 Bermuda-based workers have been offered new jobs in US.

The new store will cater primarily to cruise ship passengers docking at the former naval base.

The company also plans to move its store in the Clarendon Building to the new Victoria Place development on Victoria Road, Hamilton.

Staff from the airport branch will be located to the branch in St George.

The bank has reassured the public that their ATMs and cash deposit services at the airport will remain operational.