MESSAGE: Tropical Storm Don formed east of the Windward Islands. Tropical Storm Warning issued for Grenada and Tropical Storm Watch issued for Barbados, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
THE SITUATION:
On Monday 17th July 2017, Tropical Storm (TS) Don formed east of the Windward Islands. According to the latest advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, as at 8:00pm (AST), TS Don was located near latitude 11.2N and longitude 53.8W, which places it about 405 miles east-southeast of Barbados and about 515 miles east of Trinidad. TS Don is moving at maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour.
Don is moving toward the west near 17 mph (28 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through Wednesday, with a gradual increase in forward speed. On the forecast track the center of Don will move through the Windward Islands late Tuesday and Tuesday night.
Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) Weather Briefing
On Monday July 17, 2017, the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) alerted CDEMA via a Weather Briefing on the status of TS Don. Tropical Storm Don is expected to move across Barbados and the Southern Windwards bringing wet, stormy and gusty conditions late Tuesday/early Wednesday. In addition seas are anticipated to be rough across the island chain during the passage of this system.
It should be noted that CIMH is not a forecasting agency but provides these briefings to the CDEMA CU to facilitate scenario planning at the regional and national levels.
Tropical Storm Warning and Watch Issued
The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) has placed Grenada under a Tropical Storm Warning as at 5:00pm today, Monday July 17, 2017.
The Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS) has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as of 5:00pm today, July 17, 2017.
The Government of Saint Lucia has issued a Tropical Storm watch for Saint Lucia as at 5:00pm today, July 17, 2017.
A Tropical Storm Warning means that Grenada can expect Tropical Storm conditions within 36 hours. Deteriorating conditions with pockets of moderate to heavy showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds are expected to spread across the threatened States.
National Actions:
The national systems in the threatened States are on alert and monitoring.
The following update was provided by the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) in Grenada:
- NaDMA has informed all national stakeholders and many regional partners via press release and other electronic means including Whatsapp
- The National Advisory Council will meet at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, 18 July 2017
- NaDMA will continue to monitor
The National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) in St Vincent and the Grenadines provided the following update:
- NEMO has informed all stakeholders
- The National Advisory Council is aware and monitoring. If necessary, a meeting will be held first thing in the morning on Tuesday 18, July 2017
- Key area of concern is communications on the southern Grenadine Islands such as Canouan and Union Island. Mobile telephone services are the primary means of communications on those islands. NEMO has been in contact with the islands and they are also monitoring
- NEMO will continue to monitor the situation and is on alert to activate NEOC late on Tuesday, 18 July 2017 if deem necessary.
The National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) in Saint Lucia provided the following update:
- The Saint Lucia Meteorological Services issued 2 advisories stating that the island is under a Tropical Storm Watch
- The National Emergency Management Advisory Committee (NEMAC) was informed of the status of TS Don
- The Cabinet Secretary and Acting Prime Minister was informed (The Prime Minister is on travel duty)
- NEMO is engaging in a number of public awareness campaigns, advising citizens of the storm and sharing safety tips
- The Met Service and NEMO continue to monitor the storm.
Regional Actions:
The CDEMA Coordinating Unit is in contact with the National Disaster Coordinators (NDCs). The status of regional actions is as follows:
- The Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) has been placed on standby
- The Regional Security System (RSS) has been contacted to place the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) on standby
- CDEMA has placed the CARICOM Disaster Assessment and Coordination (CDAC) team and CARICOM Operational Support Team (COST) on standby
- The Eastern Caribbean Development Partner Group on Disaster Management (ECDPG/DM) has been alerted and will convene a meeting tomorrow, Tuesday 18th July 2017
- The Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) will update the partners of the RRM on the status of the system at the ECDPG/DM meeting
- CDEMA is equipped to offer support through the mobilization and deployment surge capacity in specialized technical areas to its Participating States and stands ready to respond as required
Sub Regional Actions
- The Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados Sub Regional Focal Points have been in contact with the CDEMA Participating States within their respective groupings and are on standby to support where necessary. They are both closely monitoring.
CDEMA will continue to monitor the system and provide updates as necessary.
CONTACT DETAILS: The CDEMA CU 24-hour contact number 1(246) 434-4880