National shutdown in B'dos, St Lucia as Dorian passes by

The Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados was closed early today, and most flights postponed or cancelled until further notice, as the country braces for Tropical Storm Dorian.

A statement by Prime Minister Mia Mottley said, “A national shutdown was also brought forward from midday to 10 am today.

“Only emergency services and businesses that offer essential services such as supermarkets and pharmacies, should work as planned, until necessary.”

Journalist Rachel Agard of the Nation Publishing Company said today, “It is overcast. However, it is very windy at this time. People are getting their last-minute supplies.”

TT meteorologist Oscar Lovell has estimated Dorian's maximum sustained wind speed at 95 miles per hour.

He said, “At 11 am today Dorian was located near latitude 12.3 North, longitude 57.7 West, about 220 miles east-southeast of Barbados and 395 miles east-southeast of St Lucia.

St Lucia has also issued a national shut down commencing from 6 pm on Monday as they are expecting to feel the impact of Dorian.

Newsday spoke with Trinidadian photographer Andrea De Silva-Viarruel, who is in St Lucia. She, along with others, such as music aficionado Nigel Campbell, covered the Roots & Soul Music Festival there over the weekend. Campbell's flight home was among those cancelled because of Dorian.

De Silva-Viarruel said, “It is overcast, but generally the weather is a bit calm, with a few odd windy moments.”

The Met Office said, “TT will not be affected by this. There will be sunny and hazy conditions at first with few showers in some areas.”

A Tropical Storm Warning was in effect earlier for Martinique, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Grenada and its dependencies, Saba and St Eustatius, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola.

The US National Hurricane Center has reported that Dorian could become a hurricane in the days ahead.