MIAMI, Sep. 3, CMC – Hurricane watches have been issued for several islands in the Eastern Caribbean as a powerful category three Hurricane Irma moves closer to the island chain.
The Miami based National Hurricane Centre in its latest forecast says the centre of Irma is located 790 miles east of the Leeward Islands and is moving just south of due west at about 14 miles per hour.
Early Sunday, Irma strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane and some additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours.
Based on this, a Hurricane Watch is in effect for Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St Kitts Nevis, Saba, St Eustatius, St Maarten and St Barthelemy.
The Montserrat Reporter notes the observation that there is no single forecasted scenario that should be relied on as mentioned in these articles, but advise that all necessary precautions to be taken for the worst possibility.
The National Hurricane Centre reports that at 5pm (local time), the centre of the system was located near latitude 17.6 North, longitude 49.8 west. Irma is moving toward the west near 14 mph (22 km/h) and a westward to west-southwestward motion with some reduction in forward speed is expected through Monday night.
On the forecast track, the center of Irma is forecast to approach the northern Leeward Islands late Tuesday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph (185 km/h) with higher gusts.
Irma is expected to close to the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico by the middle of this week, and then near or north of Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos and The Bahamas late week into next weekend.
Meanwhile, in St. Kitts Nevis, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson of the National Disaster Mitigation Council, Shawn Richards, has urged the public to pay close attention to the path of the hurricane.
In a statement on Sunday, Richards said by the time Irma is in the vicinity of the Federation – by something on Wednesday, it is expected that the storm will be category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.
“To this end, public service announcements are being aired on the state-owned media outlet ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation, and the public is strongly urged to cooperate with all advisories.”
Richards also urged fishers, farmers and members of the public to secure boats, livestock and animals.
“Please take the passage of Hurricane Irma very seriously. Stock up on essential items and start securing your property now,” he added.
In Antigua and Barbuda,Prime Minister Gaston Browne said he has taken “precautionary steps to avert harmful after effects” if Hurricane Irma’s rain bands and tailwinds reach the twin-island on Monday or Tuesday.
“The passage of a hurricane is not a matter to be taken lightly, although we ought not panic. Please, however, do all that is necessary to ensure that our families’ lives, properties and valuable possessions are not placed in any danger because of negligence or failure to heed the warnings.”
The Prime Minister revealed that contingency plans are in the works, which will see the health ministry, Central Board of Health (CBH) and National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) band together to clean drains and remove debris that could possibly block waterways.
In a press release, Browne explained that the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) was instructed to “dispatch teams of workers immediately to prune trees that overhang power lines, and to clear those shrubs and bushes that could impair recovery should Irma’s winds disrupt electricity”.
The head of the Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force has also been asked to help APUA with more manpower, over the next 72 hours.
And the regional carrier, LIAT in a statement late Sunday says several destinations in its network may be affected by the storm.
“Based on official sources, Hurricane Irma is expected to move over or near the north eastern Leeward Islands. LIAT will continue to monitor official advisories and advise passengers of any changes to our operations.”
The Antigua based airline said that passengers who have flights during this week – September 4-11, to islands north of Dominica that may be in the projected path, will be allowed to make changes to their reservations.
Then in a later report out from the Miami Herald headlined “Caribbean islands put under hurricane watch as Irma gets stronger and closer”
By David Neal and Glenn Garvin, said – Hurricane Irma revved itself up into a Category 3 storm Sunday, with winds of 115 mph, and a host of Caribbean islands placed themselves under a hurricane watch as the storm crept closer.
The National Hurricane Center’s 8 p.m. Sunday advisory placed Irma about 760 miles east of the Leeward Islands, moving westward at 14 mph.
“Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours,” the center advised. Already, hurricane-force winds extend 35 miles outward from the storm’s center, and tropical-storm-force winds out 140 miles.
Irma is still too far away for forecast models to be very reliable, but meteorologists said at the storm’s current pace, it could be nearing Florida by next weekend.
