(Trinidad Express) Transport hubs and supermarkets were jam packed, off-shore oil and gas facilities evacuated and some events were cancelled yesterday as nationals braced themselves for Tropical Storm Tomas, which was heading towards the Caribbean last night.
Weather gurus predicted that the eye of the still-developing storm would have passed north of Tobago last night.
Described as a “rare burst of late October activity” by the Florida-based Orlando Sentinel, “Tropical Storm Tomas emerged in the Atlantic near the Windward Islands yesterday afternoon. The system is forecast to arrive in the central Caribbean by next Wednesday as a major hurricane”. Up to press time the system was located 350 kilometres east of Tobago.
The word from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) last night was that Tomas is moving west-northwest at about 24 to 36 km/hr, which means that Tobago and north Trinidad would have experienced tropical storm conditions from midnight last night. Thundershowers, gusty winds and street or flash flooding were expected to accompany the bad weather.
The ODPM also said that first responder agencies. namely the police, Defence Force, Fire Service, municipal corporations and CEPEP remained on alert, with most Defence Force personnel being confined to their respective bases. The ODPM also said shelters and other forms of resources have already been prepared and will be used if the need arose.
Governments of Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia also issued tropical storm warnings for their citizens, while the government of France issued the same warning for its department, Martinique.
The storm began as an area of low-pressure developing south-east of Trinidad yesterday. Guyana was the first area of call yesterday, with heavy rains and ominous-looking clouds hovering over Georgetown by midday.
As yesterday progressed, however, Port of Spain employees heeded the warnings of the (ODPM) to “review preparedness measures at this time”.
This turned into an advisory to leave work places early and by midday both City Gate and various taxi stands were brimming with anxious commuters seeking to get home.
One commuter, who did not want to be named, said, “The boss didn’t want me to go and was saying no storm coming but I say, ‘No, I leaving’.”
She had her two sons in tow as they stood in line for a bus at City Gate.
Debra Benjamin, another mother, told the Express, “We had to leave because the bosses and them only denying the storm coming but I have to make sure my children get home.”
Along the highways signs of panic were evident.
Several schools around the country dismissed classes early yesterday, as ordered by the Ministry of Education, leading to snarling traffic from downtown Port of Spain and along the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway straight to Valsayn.
Some member of the public went to supermarkets before heading home.
Dr M Yunus Ibrahim, vice president of the Supermarkets Association of Trinidad and Tobago (SATT), said they were prepared. The stocks in most demand were canned meats and vegetables, candles, matches, bottled water, batteries and Crix, he said.
He said, “Based on all the warnings we knew something was coming and all of our members stocked our shelves with all the necessary items throughout Thursday and today. We experienced moderate increase (of customers) throughout the day (yesterday).”
Oil and gas companies Repsol and bpTT also swung into “precautionary mode”, evacuating non-essential staff from their off-shore facilities.
Repsol said it left a skeletal staff at its 11 offshore installations, while bpTT’s Danielle Bailey reported that they too evacuated non-essential personnel from 13 off-shore facilities.
Bailey said, “In keeping with our Severe Weather Response Plan, BP Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) has taken precautionary measures to evacuate all non-essential personnel from its Port of Spain and Galeota Point offices based on an information bulletin issued by the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Office.”
Both companies said they will continue to monitor the looming system.
