Northern Caribbean braces for Tropical Storm Laura
Several islands in the eastern Caribbean are bracing for storm conditions with the formation of Tropical Storm Laura today, August 21.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued
for Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British and US Virgin Islands, St Eustatius,
St Kitts-Nevis, St Martin and St Barthelemy.
Laura is located 375 kilometres
east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of
75 kph this morning.
“On the forecast track, the center of Laura will
move near or over the northern Leeward Islands later today, near or over Puerto
Rico Saturday morning, and near the northern coast of Hispaniola late Saturday
and early Sunday,” said the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The storm remains disorganised and could degenerate or possibly become a major hurricane, the NHC said.
Three to six inches of rain is possible over
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic and the Haitian Peninsula.
The eastern and southern slopes of Puerto Rico are at risk of flash and urban
flooding due to the heavy rainfall. What’s more, one to three inches of rain
with isolated maximum totals of five inches is expected over the remainder of
Haiti, the northern Leeward Islands, the Turks and Caicos and southeast Bahamas.
On its current path, which is still uncertain, it
may pass north of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas
before making its way to the United States.
A second system, Tropical Depression 14, could
become a hurricane by early next week. The system is centered 255 kilometres
east of the Honduran island of Roatan and has winds of 55kph. It is expected to
cross the tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday at or near hurricane
force.
Heavy rainfall associated with the tropical
depression are expected to impact eastern Honduras, the Cayman Islands and
parts of the Yucatan.