The Government of Dominica has decided to call off school on Thurday as Tropical Storm Bret approaches the Lesser Antilles. The business day/workday has also been suspended at 12 noon.
As of 5:00 am on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in the advisory that Bret was located 200 miles east of Barbados and had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
“The center of Bret is expected to move across portions of the Lesser Antilles Thursday afternoon and Thursday night, and then move across the eastern Caribbean Sea on Friday,” said NHC officials.
A hurricane watch is in effect for St. Lucia.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for Dominica, St. Lucia and Martinique.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
In a statement late Wednesday, the government said on its current track, Bret is expected to pass approximately 85 miles south of Dominica overnight on Thursday, June 22, 2023 with earliest possible arrival of tropical storm force winds expected by 2:00pm.
Because of threat the storm poses, the government took the following decisions:
– A Tropical Storm warning is in effect for Dominica from 11:00pm, Wednesday, June 21,
2023.
– All schools will be closed on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
– The online CXC CCSLC Digital Literacy exam scheduled for 9: 30am to 10:15 am and the CAPE Caribbean Studies exam scheduled for 9:00am to 10:30am at the Portsmouth Secondary School on Thursday, June 22, 2023 will proceed.
– The business day / workday on Thursday, June 22, 2023 will be suspended at 12 noon
The statement said shower and thunderstorm activity is expected from Thursday afternoon “and a further deterioration in conditions is projected overnight with moderate to heavy showers and thunderstorms, which could result in widespread flash flooding into Friday.”
With the storm approaching, the government said all Dominicans must be prepared.
“Residents are advised to complete all preparations as Tropical Storm Bret approaches,” the statement said.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit advised Dominicans to not take this approaching storm for granted.
“It is better we are fully prepared and nothing happens than to be ill prepared and something happens,” he advised.
Skerrit continued, “We do not have to go back in history to understand and appreciate what a Tropical Storm can do in our country and what a Trough can do in our country and therefore it is incumbent on each of us, each family, each community, each business place, each facility to prepare themselves for the storm, so that we are better safe than sorry.”
He added, “From the Government standpoint, from the national standpoint we are leaving no stone unturned in our preparation actions.”
Skerrit stated that his government has ignited its mechanisms and they are being cross checked and double checked in all instances.
Sandford still open
As Bret makes its way across the Lesser Antilles I hope the affected islands would be spared any serious damage nor any lost of lives..
I hope that most planning and preparations have been done to mitigate against any possible damage.
I do hope that they find the “lost” lives.