SKN braces for Hurricane Omar, other islands ‘taking no chances’
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-HURRICANE Omar is predicted to hit the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts-Nevis within the next 24 hours and residents are being urged to make the necessary preparation to protect life and property.
Tropical Storm Omar strengthened to a hurricane status of Category 1 last night (Oct. 14) with maximum sustained winds reaching 75 miles per hour. At the same times as this upgrade in status, officials at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami declared a hurricane warning for St. Kitts and Nevis.
“A hurricane warning is in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands, the islands of Vieques, Culebra…St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Kitts and Nevis,” the 5:00 a.m. advisory on the storm stated.
It went on to say that, “a hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.”
Residents of St. Kitts-Nevis are advised to prepare non-perishable food and drinking water at this time if such preparations have not already been made. First aid kits and lanterns are also advised.
Important documents and other valuables should be sealed in waterproof containers and any item around your home which can be blown away by a hurricane should be secured as they can become projectiles during the storm. ~~Adz:Right~~
The St. Kitts-Nevis Met Office informed SKNVibes that “at this time no flights out of the Robert L. Bradshaw Airport have been cancelled, it’s business as usual so far”. WinAir, however, released a statement this morning informing that its “flights will be affected as the airline strongly believes in the safety of its passengers”.
At this time there have been no school closures, though some concerned parents opted to keep their children home in preparation. One such parent told SKNVibes that “I can’t understand why they always wait until it begins to pour to make radio announcements that the children have been sent home. A storm is expected to hit sometime later so I guess they are waiting until it actually hits then the children should make their way home in the middle of the storm,” was the irate comment offered.
Reports emanating from the US Virgin Islands indicate that schools have been closed since yesterday (Oct. 14) and the residents and businesses alike have already ‘boarded up’. The island of St. Thomas has been put under a 6 p.m. – 6 a.m. curfew although only neighboring St. Croix is expected to be directly affected by the hurricane.
SKNVibes has received reports from other islands under storm advisory indicating that residents have flooded supermarkets to purchase dry goods and bottled water and hardware stores to secure boards, flashlights and other material.
Hurricane Omar is currently located near latitude 14.6 N and longitude 67.7 W, or roughly 380 miles to the Southwest of St. Kitts-Nevis.
According to the NHC, “Omar is moving toward the Northeast near 7 mph…and this motion is expected to continue with a gradual increase in forward speed over the next day or two. On the forecast track…Omar would move through the Northern Leeward Islands tonight (Oct. 15) and early Thursday.”
Omar is predicted to produce anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of rain as it passes over the Federation, and may produce as much as 20inches. It has been advised that these rains could produce “life-threatening flash floods” and persons are being asked to avoid low lying areas prone to such flooding.
Sea conditions are expected to be rough, with “coastal storm surge flooding of 1-2 feet above normal tide levels…along with large and dangerous battering waves”.
Some degree of strengthening is forecast for Omar in the next 24 hours as well.
An update on the situation and address from Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas is expected sometime today. Persons are being asked to continue monitoring the situation and updated advisories as the storm approaches.
