BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – A Tropical Storm watch is in effect for the islands of Antigua, St Martin and St Barthelemy, Saba and St Eustatius as Tropical Storm Erin continues to gather strength.

Interests in the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico have been urged to monitor the progress of Erin.

At 5:00 pm  (local time), the center of Tropical Storm Erin was located near latitude 16.7 North, longitude 51.2 West.

Erin is moving toward the west near 17 mph (28 km/h) and a turn toward the west-northwest is expected on Thursday night , with this motion expected to continue into the weekend.

On the forecast track, the center of Erin is likely to move near or just north of the northern Leeward Islands over the weekend.

Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts.

Strengthening is forecast during the next day or so, and Erin is expected to become a hurricane on Friday.

Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda’s disaster preparedness officials are urging residents to finalise their emergency plans as meteorological services monitor the tropical Storm.

Sherrod James, director of the National Office of Disaster Services (NODS), and Deputy Director Craig Cole shared with the media the current preparations and reminded the public that hurricane season protocols should already be in place.

“NODS has been in contact and liaising with the office in terms of the monitoring of the actual system and its approach and its potential development and any potential threats that it may pose to us in our immediate region,” James said.

NODS has mobilised its volunteer network to prepare response teams for potential activities, including damage assessment, shelter management, and community emergency response operations. Officials are also coordinating with National Emergency Operations Center partner agencies to assess readiness levels across all sectors.

James stressed that every household should have a comprehensive emergency plan with clearly defined roles for family members. “You want to make sure that your home emergency plan – everyone in your family knows the plan in terms of what the expected actions are. Everyone has defined roles,” he said.