Tropical Storm Matthew 2016

On 27 September 2016, an area of inclement weather in the Atlantic Ocean began to gather speed, reaching speeds of 60 mph (96 km/h); by 11:00am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) that same day, authorities in St Lucia issued a Tropical Storm Warning as the system had been upgraded to Tropical Storm Matthew, and it was expected to impact the island. Within hours of the warning, residents began to experience heavy rainfall and strong winds of up to 60 mph or higher associated with the approaching storm.

At 5:00pm EDT on 28 September 2016, Tropical Storm Matthew’s Centre was located near latitude 13.N and 62.0W or about 65 miles west of St Lucia. Heavy rainfall, rough seas and strong gusty winds associated with Tropical Storm Mathew continued to impact the island until 8:00am on 29 September 2016. Early reports from the National District Disaster Committees, Saint Lucia Red Cross (SLRC) volunteers and CDRTs indicated that there were power outages in several communities across the island and that all Saint Lucia’s quadrants including Gros Islet, Castries, Bexon, Marc, Dennery, Laborie, Micoud, Choisuel and Vieux Fort were flooded; the storm’s passage also resulted in the loss services such as telephone and internet, impassable roads, the loss of the water supply in some areas, roofing damage in a number of areas and flooding and damage to primary health care facilities’ roofing. Based on initial rapid assessments conducted by the Saint Lucia Red Cross, at least 250 families were affected by the flooding and damaged roofs.

A trail of destruction was left behind after 14 hours of battering by the storm. Although there were no reports of lives being lost, there was significant damage to infrastructure as well as landslides, while several roads have been damaged by floods and blocked by debris and fallen trees which also brought down high-powered lines. As a result of the road network being littered in some areas with high tension wires, schools were ordered closed while the commercial sector was given the option of opening after mid-day. Prime Minister Allen Chastanet, said as a result of fallen trees and flying debris 70 per cent of St Lucians were without electricity and a higher per cent without piped water. Tropical Storm Matthew dumped over 10 inches of rain when it passed directly over St Lucia on Wednesday afternoon accompanied by strong gusts, sometimes exceeding 60 miles per hour. Met officials said the system was accompanied by high seas with waves of up to 20 feet.

Source: https://goo.gl/43gxMY

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2016

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