Long lines as Barbadians rushed to complete last-minute preparations.
Barbadians were yesterday bracing for the passage of Tropical Storm Dorian, which was expected to pass over or near the island last night and early this morning, but preparations for the storm went into high gear when the national shutdown procedure was pushed up two hours earlier.
The earlier closer was decided on, as news that the feeder bands of the system would be felt on the island sooner than originally anticipated. Throughout the course of the morning, Barbadians could be seen hustling to supermarkets, gas stations and hardware stores to stock up on items they required to ride out the storm. In supermarkets across the island, the lines stretched far as persons sought to buy such items as bottled water, non-perishable foods and batteries. The lines to gas stations were also quite long, and at times caused traffic congestion in the areas. There were also reports that at least one gas station ran out of fuel, as demand was high.
But the day started like any other, with many areas experiencing sunshine in the early hours of the morning. However, the weather gradually started to change, and gloomy skies, coupled with intermittent showers, were signs that the tropical storm was inching its way closer to the island. According to the Barbados Meteorological Services, sustained surface winds between 50 to 60 mph with higher gusts were expected to spread across the island between yesterday afternoon and this morning. It was not a surprise then that around 10 a.m. yesterday, the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training issued a notice, urging all Category 1 Shelter Wardens to open the shelters “as soon as possible”.
Speaking to one of the local radio stations, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley indicated that given that the shutdown procedures would begin from 10 a.m. instead, only essential services in the private and public sectors would have been expected to open. In that vein, she urged all those who did not need to go out, to stay indoors and keep safe.
In a release issued later by the Government Information Service, Minister of Home Affairs, Edmund Hinkson, indicated that offices and ministries would close at 10 a.m. and with the last Transport Board bus to any destination expected to leave the bus terminals at 11 a.m., except the cross-country service from Oistins to College Savannah, which was slated to leave at 11:30 a.m., all persons were asked to be off the streets no later than noon. His comments came as he indicated that staff of the Sanitation Service Authority, the Ministry of Public Works and Maintenance, the National Conservation Commission and the National Housing Corporation were to be deployed early in the day to continue the clean-up ahead of the storm’s impact, and all other government employees in services not essential, would not be required to report for work.
Meanwhile, it was recommended that Barbadians store five gallons of water per person per day for at least five days, but many communities were crying out over the weekend for a lack of water, as they experienced dry taps. On its Facebook page, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) indicated on Sunday, that it would be filling all of its Community Tanks starting that evening, to ensure that water was available to persons who did not have running water due to the outages. Additionally, the BWA indicated that tanks would have been refilled yesterday morning, to ensure that the tanks were secured by the weight of the water for use after the storm and would not become missiles in high winds. It was indicated however, that those tanks were to be locked off until after the passage of the storm. Water tankers from the BWA were also out yesterday morning going to affected areas, but the utility company warned that given the heavy demand, there would have been delays.
At 11 a.m. Tropical Storm Dorian was centred near 12.3 degrees north, 57.7 degrees west and 135 miles east-southeast of Barbados. It was moving west northwest, at 14 miles per hour. The maximum sustained winds were near 60 mph with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 45 miles. The minimum central pressure was 1002mb.
A tropical storm warning remained in effect for Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Dominica, Grenada, Saba and St. Eustatius. While a hurricane watch was in effect for St. Lucia.