Local emergency services in Barbados and St. Lucia have been placed on full alert as Tropical Storm Chantal races towards the Lesser Antilles.
On Monday afternoon the Government of St. Lucia announced the closure of the George F. Charles Airport as of midnight due the impending passage of the storm
As a result,regional carrier, LIAT has been forced to cancel several flights in and out of the island on Tuesday.
According to release from LIAT, an assessment will be made by the St. Lucian authorities at 11:00 am on Tuesday determine the time for reopening the airport.
St. Lucia has also implemented other precautionary measures - at a pre-strike meeting of the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) on Monday, Police Commissioner Vernon Francois announced the cancellation of leave for police officers, with the exception of those on vacation leave.
During the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, it was also announced that all schools will be closed on Tuesday and will remain closed until Wednesday morning, unless advised otherwise.
Barbados
In Barbados, local emergency services have been placed on full alert and the Department of Emergency Management announced plans activate the emergency operations centre at 9:30 pm and also open Category One shelters from 6:00 pm to facilitate persons who wish to shelter there.
The National Hurricane Centre in its latest advisory said Tropical Storm Chantal is moving toward the west-northwest near 43 kilometres per hour and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.
The centre of Chantal is projected to reach the Lesser Antilles early Tuesday and move into the eastern Caribbean Sea later in the day and be near the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 75 kilometres per hour with higher gusts.
Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours.
A Tropical Storm warning is in effect for Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico, while a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Vieques and Culebra, the southern coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to the border with Haiti
Interests in Haiti and eastern Cuba have been advised to monitor the progress of Chantal.
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