This content originally appeared on St. Lucia Times.
The radio cuts to a special bulletin. The meteorological service is giving an update, and before the weatherman even finishes the sentence, your mother is already counting tins in the pantry. Canned tuna. Milk. Crackers. Your sibling is filling every pot and bucket in the house with water. Grandma is checking the kerosene lamp and the charge on the solar lights, and Daddy is on the verandah looking at the sky, the way grandpa taught him. Without anyone saying it out loud, the whole house understands a storm is coming.
