Message: Tropical Storm Warning still in effect for Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Tropical Storm Watch discontinued for Barbados and Saint Lucia.
The Situation:
The latest advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida at 5:00 PM AST (1200 UTC), shows the center of Tropical Storm Don located near latitude 11.7 North, longitude 60.0 West. TS Don is about 135 miles southeast of St Vincent and about 120 miles east-southeast of Grenada.
Don is moving toward the west near 22 mph (35 km/h). This general motion is expected through Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Don will move across the Windward Islands this evening, and then move westward across the southeastern Caribbean Sea late tonight and Wednesday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 24hrs. The tropical storm is forecast to degenerate into a trough of low pressure tonight or Wednesday night.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from the center.
Impact Analysis by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH)
The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) provided CDEMA with an impact analysis based on the forecasted Tropical Storm on Tuesday July 18, 2017.
- A weakening tropical Storm “Don” is expected to move across the Windward Islands later today into tonight and is forecast to degenerate into a trough over the Southern Windwards late Wednesday.
- The major cloud mass is expected to move over the Southern Windwards (mainly the Grenadines and Tobago areas) today. However, strong gusty winds are expected to spread across Barbados and the Southern Windwards (mainly over the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago areas).
- Significant wave heights of approx. 2 - 3 m can be expected in the Eastern Caribbean as far north as Saint Lucia resulting in rough seas. Marine operators and small craft owners should exercise caution and secure property.
- Rainfall accumulations of approx. 2 - 4 inches likely with the possibility of localised enhancement due to topography resulting in periods of intense rainfall leading to swollen rivers, flash flooding in Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago with the possibility and landslides in localized areas
- Likely that flooding in Trinidad and Tobago will be exacerbated due to the persistence of recent rainfall
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
- A Tropical Storm Warning is still in effect for Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- The Tropical Storm Watch has been discontinued for Barbados and Saint Lucia
- A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case in the next 24 hours
- Interests in Trinidad and Tobago are also advised to monitor the progress of Don.
National Actions:
The national systems in the threatened States continue to be on alert and are monitoring.
Grenada
The following update was provided by the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) in Grenada. Following a meeting convened by the National Emergency Advisory Committee last evening (Tuesday July 17, 2017) at NaDMA’s headquarters the following decisions were taken, as Grenada prepares for the impact of Tropical Storm Don:
- All businesses to suspend activities by 3:00pm., today Tuesday July 18, 2017
- Full activation of the National Emergency Operations Centre from 6:00pm today Tuesday July 18, 2017
- The list of Shelters to be activated at 6:00pm today will be given at 4:00pm today Tuesday July 18, 2017
- Areas of current concern for the NEOC include Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA), Shelter Management and Evacuation
- NaDMA continues to monitor the progress of the system and will provide updates.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
The National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) in St Vincent and the Grenadines provided the following update:
- A meeting of the National Emergency Council was held at 10:30 am today July 18, 2017, at the NEMO's Headquarters. The meeting was chaired by the Hon. Prime Minister
- A decision was made to close all non essential services in the Southern Grenadines at 2pm today (Canouan, Union Island, Mayreau, Petit St. Vincent, Palm Island)
- At 2pm St. Vincent and the Grenadines remain under Tropical Storm Warning and the following decisions were announced by the Hon. Prime Minister
- The closure of all businesses and non – essential services for St. Vincent and the Grenadines from 5pm today
- All emergency shelters to be activated at 6pm this evening
- The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) will be activated at 6:00pm today.
Sub Regional Actions
- The Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados Sub Regional Focal Points continue to closely monitor the situation and remain on standby to support where necessary.
Regional Readiness Actions:
- A meeting of the Eastern Caribbean Development Partner Group – Disaster Management (ECDPG-DM) was convened today, Tuesday July 18, 2017 at 4:50pm at the CDEMA Coordinating Unit. The meeting was chaired by the CDEMA’s Executive Director. Representatives from national disaster offices, regional and international donor, humanitarian and development agencies were provided with the weather observations and outlook on TS Don presented by the CIMH.
- The CDEMA CU prepared an operational plan with potential scenarios. This was presented at the ECDPG-DM meeting and will be circulated on Tuesday July 18th 2017.
- The Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) has been placed on standby since Monday July 17, 2017. The CARICOM Disaster and Assessment Coordination (CDAC) Team as well as the CARICOM Operations Support Team (COST) have been placed on alert. The CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) has also been placed on alert with the support of the Regional Security System (RSS).
- The CDEMA Coordinating Unit continues to monitor the situation and remains in contact with the National Disaster Coordinators (NDCs) of the threatened States. CDEMA is equipped to offer support through the mobilization and deployment of surge capacity in specialized technical areas to its Participating States and stands ready to respond as required.
CDEMA will continue to monitor the storm and provide updates as necessary.
CONTACT DETAILS: The CDEMA CU 24-hour contact number 1(246) 434-4880