Jamaica's Meteorological Service is still monitoring a tropical wave which is in the vicinity of the island. The system is the remnant of Tropical Storm Chantal which weakened Wednesday afternoon.
The tropical wave is moving towards the west near 37 kilometres per hour, and is expected to spread its associated weather across Jamaica and eastern Cuba. Maximum sustained winds are near 75 kilometres per hour, with higher gusts. Periods of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms could begin to affect Jamaica starting with eastern parishes and spreading across the country.
Flash flooding is therefore possible and residents are advised to remain on the alert for rising waters, especially in low-lying and flood-prone areas. Small craft operators should also continue to exercise caution, until wind and sea conditions have returned to safe levels after the passage of the Tropical Wave.
Haiti, Dominican Republic drenched
And heavy rains from the tropical wave drenched parts of Haiti as well as the Dominican Republic and forced the evacuation of thousands from flood-prone areas. One death was reported in the Dominican Republic; a firefighter swept away by floodwaters. He was trying to clear a storm drain.
Dominican authorities evacuated thousands of people from communities considered at high risk for flooding as rivers near the capital and along the southern coast reached dangerously high levels from the heavy rains. The authorities said more than 6,500 people were evacuated last night. Haitian officials urged people to move away from ravines, secure important records and stock up on food and water.
Farmers in southern Haiti, where mountainside crops are particularly vulnerable to strong winds, fared the worst as heavy rain fell.
Opposition's concerns
In the meantime, Jamaica's Parliamentary Opposition has expressed concern about what it says is the wobbly state of the country's disaster preparedness system. According to Desmond McKenzie, Opposition Spokesman on Local Government, the relevant agencies are under-funded and this will have dire consequences for the country's readiness for natural disasters.
Mr. McKenzie pointed to the cut in the budgetary allocation to the National Works Agency, NWA.
“My understanding is that the National Works Agency said it would require about J$600 million in order to carry out meaningful mitigation work across the country, but they were only given J$31 million to undertake that responsibility. When you break that down into constituency, that roughly works out to about 350,000 to 400,000 per constituency."
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