Western Caribbean closely monitoring Hurricane Matthew
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – The western Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Cuba, and The Bahamas are keeping close watch on the tropical system that has now developed into Hurricane Matthew.
The system was upgraded to a hurricane yesterday afternoon.
In Jamaica, the National Meteorological Service said the system could move close to the island and pose a direct threat.
Fishermen on Jamaica’s cays and banks were advised to commence preparations with a view to evacuate, should it become necessary.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management (ODPEM), meanwhile, has alerted all agencies and parish disaster committees, while emergency managers, responders and volunteers have been placed on standby.
In the Dominican Republic, the Emergency Operations Centre has also issued an alert for the southern region of the country.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre says Jamaica and – particularly Haiti – could start to feel the impact of the Hurricane by late Sunday and eastern Cuba as soon as Monday.
The National Hurricane Centre, in its update at 2:00 pm yesterday, said the centre of the hurricane was located near latitude 14.2 degrees north and longitude 67.0 degrees west.
Matthew was moving towards the west near 17 miles per hour and a general westward motion with some decrease in forward speed was expected.
An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft reported that the maximum sustained winds have increased to near 75 mph with higher gusts and gradual strengthening is expected during the next 48 hours.
The hurricane centre said tropical storm conditions were possible in Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba, beginning late last night.
Rainfall totals of two to four inches with isolated higher amounts are expected over those islands through Saturday.
It also warned that swells generated by Matthew were expected to affect portions of the coasts of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Venezuela, and Colombia during the next few days.
— One dead as Matthew batters eastern Caribbean