St. Philip South DEO - Meeting July 30, 2008

Members of the St. Philip South District Emergency Organisation are reminded of a Special Meeting on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at the St. Martin's Mangrove Primary School, St. Martin, St. Philip at 8:00 p.m.

A special invitation is extended to all members especially those who are officers of the various DEO sub committees. The aforementioned sub-committees are as follows; information, shelter, clothing, feeding, first aid, road clearance, damage assessment and communications.

The Guest Speaker will be Mr. Frankland Weekes of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM).

Here Comes Tropical Storms Cristobal And Dolly

Hurricane forecasters are currently monitoring the progress of three storm systems. They are Tropical Storms Bertha, Cristobal and Dolly.
The National Hurricane Center has already issued its first advisory for the fourth tropical storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season TS Dolly.

Tropical Storm Dolly is expected to affect the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from its border with Belize to the Bay of Campeche. A Storm Warning is currently in effect for these territories, this means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 24 hours.

At 11:45 a.m. the center of Tropical Storm Dolly was located near latitude 18.4 North and longitude 84.2 West or about 270 miles (435 km) East of Chetumal, Mexico. Dolly is moving towards the North-West near 17 mph (28 km/h), A North-Westward motion is forecast during the next couple of days.

Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts, slight strengthening is possible today. Tropical Storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles from the center. The minimal central pressure is 1008 milibars.

An Intermediate Advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 2:00 p.m.

DEO Personnel Undergo Sensitisation Training

A number of officers from the District Emergency Organisation (DEO) were recently exposed to sensitisation training. This is as a result of a training workshop sponsored by the Barbados Council for the Disabled at Harambee House, Garrison, St. Michael.

The training sought to heighten the awareness of disaster and emergency personnel with regard to planning for and addressing the needs of persons with disabilities. The participants were reminded of the need to incorporate people with disabilities in their disaster plans and also their responsibilities to the special needs groups.

Several challenges faced by vulnerable persons were highlighted during the workshop, one important fact arising from the discussions is the need to have greater involvement of disabled persons in the preplanning for disasters and emergencies.

Tropical Disturbance - Invest 94L

A tropical disturbance (Invest 94L) in the Eastern Atlantic is currently being tracked by the National Hurricane Center and may be upgraded to a tropical depression.

At 8:00 a.m. the center of the tropical disturbance was estimated to be near latitude 8.9 North and longitude 37.2 West or about 1600 miles East of the Southern Windward Islands. Preliminary computer projections (most of them), track 94L mainly towards the West affecting the Southern Windwards in 4 - 5 days. Forecasters are predicting that it could reach hurricane status by day 3 based on the SHIPS forecast model. If it does further develop, Cristobal would be it's name.

Maximum sustained winds are near 25 mph, with some strengthening expected. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 millibars.

Increased Chance Of Rain

Residents in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean should prepare for elevated levels of rain fall over the next couple of days as a weather disturbance approaches our area.

Forecasters are predicting an increased chance of rain over the next few days but as the disturbance moves away, rain chances will begin to decrease toward the middle of the week. There is a 50 percent chance for rain throughout our area today, with chances Monday holding at 40 percent.

According to the marine forecast, boaters can expect variable but moderate winds with higher winds and rougher sea conditions are expected near isolated showers and thunderstorms, which are predicted throughout the forecast period.

Tropical Storm Bertha Forecast To Strengthen

Tropical Storm Bertha is briskly moving westward and is forecast to strengthen. Bertha's maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph (85 kph), and forecasters said it could gradually strengthen further over the next few days.

At 11:00 a.m. today the second tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane season was about 1185 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and was moving west at about 21 mph (33 kph).

It was expected to proceed on a general west-northwest track with a gradual decrease in forward speed. As Bertha remains over the waters of the Central Tropical Atlantic it is much too early to determine if Bertha will eventually affect any land areas.

Some computer forecasting models predicted Bertha's top winds would reach the 74 mph (119 kph) threshold to become a hurricane in three or four days.

St. Philip South DEO - Meeting July 8, 2008

Members of the St. Philip South District Emergency Organisation are reminded of our monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at the St. Martin's Mangrove Primary School, St. Martin, St. Philip at 8:00 p.m.

Area Wardens, and other officers of the various DEO sub committees are especially asked to attend. The aforementioned sub-committees are as follows; information, shelter, clothing, feeding, first aid, road clearance, damage assessment and communications. A review of our readiness in each of these areas will be conducted.

Tropical Storm Bertha Is Born

Tropical Storm Bertha is born, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm has sustained winds near 40 mph and was located off the coast of Africa, about 190 miles south-southeast of the Cape Verde Islands.

Bertha is the second storm of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane season and is moving at about 14 mph. Forecasters say the storm doesn’t appear likely to become a hurricane, and should stay well away from the Caribbean island chain.

Tropical Depression 2 Forms In The Atlantic

The tropical disturbance in the eastern Atlantic has been upgraded to the second tropical depression of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane season.

At 5:00 a.m. the center of tropical depression 2 was estimated to be near latitude 12.6 north and longitude 22.7 west or about 2,479 miles (3989 km) east of the Windward Islands. The depression is moving towards the west-northwest near 9 mph and this general motion with some increase in forward speed is expected for the next couple of days.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph... 55 km/h with higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours and the depression could become a tropical storm later today. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 millibars, residents in the eastern Caribbean should continue to monitor the progress of this system as it develops. An advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 11:00 a.m.

Strong Tropical Wave Off Cape Verde Islands

A strong tropical wave is off the coast of west Africa near the Cape Verde Islands along 17 degrees West and south of 19 degrees North. The wave is estimated to be moving westwards at 15 knots. A 1011 millibar surface low is situated along the axis near 11 degrees North... very near a recent burst of deep convection.

This wave is rather vigorous exhibiting a well defined cyclonic turning and scattered moderate convection within 240 nautical miles either side of the axis. This wave will be closely monitored for further development.

Issued by: National Hurricane Center - 205 p.m. Tuesday July 01 2008.