Caribbean braces for passage of Hurricane Irma
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Hurricane Irma was inching its way towards the Leeward Islands on Friday as Caribbean governments urged citizens not to take the storm lightly and prepare sufficiently for its passage.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne in a radio and television broadcast said that the National Meteorological Service has advised that there is more than a 50 per cent probability that Hurricane Irma will affect Antigua and Barbuda.
“Its rain bands or its tailwinds may make life a little difficult for us, even if the eye passes north of our Leeward Islands on Monday or Tuesday, September 4th or 5th, “Browne said, adding that he had already “taken several precautionary steps to avert harmful after-effects on our country”.
In St Lucia, the National Emergency Management Organisation urged residents and visitors alike “to closely monitor the progress of this storm and to listen to advisories from the official authorities.
“The public is also strongly encouraged to take the necessary steps to be prepared for any severe weather which may be experienced as a result of this tropical cyclone.”
Dominica, where the state-owned DBS radio was hosting a simulcast involving several of the radio stations on the island, disaster preparedness officials said that Irma is expected “somewhere in the central and/ or northern portion of the island chain late Tuesday into Wednesday next week. This includes Dominica.