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Volume No. 2 Issue No. 10 - Friday August 17, 2007
Dean hammers Martinique and batters Dominica
 By The Dominican.net Newsdesk
Live Minute by Minute Satellite Imagery of Dean - Infrared Loop
Please Visit our message Board, post your comments, ask questions and stay updated on what's going on in Dominica as DEAN nears. We would also like to hear from those of you in Dominica
Residents on Dominica are beginning to clean up from the after effects of hurricane Dean while counting their blessing.
Dominica was spared from the full impact of hurricane Dean but was inundated with torrential rain and tropical storm force winds.
Officials are beginning to do a systematic survey of the damage, but that is what we know so far:
� Juliet Esprit and her son died after been buried by a landslide in Campbell; the woman�s body has been retrieved and that of the son is still missing;
� There is extensive crop damage; particularly bananas;
� Several homes lost their roofs and there was some structural damage to buildings across the island;
� The Roseau river overflowed its banks and at one point crested over the bridge;
� Several roads are blocked and others badly damaged including a portion of road between Coulibistrie and Portsmouth � no vehicles are going through;
� Police ordered evacuations of at least eight homes in Bath Estate as the Roseau river swelled;
� Both airports and the seaports remained closed and all flights into and out of Dominica were cancelled for Friday;
Meanwhile, Dean has been upgraded to a category three hurricane with 125 miles per hour winds as it swirled over the warm waters of the Caribbean ocean and headed toward Jamaica.
Hurricane force winds battered Dominica, St Lucia and Martinique on Friday morning as hurricane Dean made landfall. The eye of the fast moving storm with sustained winds of 115 miles per hour passed right over Martinique.
Residents on Dominica were reporting heavy damage to crops and some flooding, as Dean pounded the island with rain and high winds.
There is also some structural damage but the true extent could not be readily determined.
At 6:30 am authorities were warning residents to continue to remain indoors as the worse of the storm was still to come.
Weather officials are reporting winds of up to 70 miles per hour pounding the island.
Earlier on Thursday, throughout the villages, people were moving to shelters and stocking up on supplies in anticipation of a direct hit from Dean.
Police have started to patrol the streets of Roseau and police officers were meeting to fine-tune their security plans.
Leave for all police and security officers were cancelled and those already on leave were recalled.
Volunteers were helping move patients at the hospital and in several villages bell ringers were sent out to warn residents to seek safe shelter.
All flights in and out of Dominica have been cancelled through Saturday.
In the absence of Prime Minister Skeritt, who is out of the island, Education Minister Vince Henderson was serving as acting Prime Minister.
He appealed for calm and urged residents to move to sturdy shelter.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for the islands of Dominica
and St. Lucia. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions
are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours.
Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to
completion.
A hurricane watch continues for the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and its dependencies, Saba, and St. Eustatius. A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 36 hours. Hurricane or tropical storm warnings will likely be issued for some of these islands later this morning.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Barbados. A tropical
storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected
within the warning area within the next 24 hours.
At 800 am a tropical storm watch has been issued by
the meteorological service of Antigua for the islands of
Montserrat, Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Barbuda. A tropical
storm watch remains in effect for St. Vincent and St. Maarten. A
tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are
possible within the watch area,generally within 36 hours.
hurricane or tropical storm warnings could be issued for some of
these islands later this morning.
Interests elsewhere in the lesser antilles, the virgin
Islands,Puerto Rico, and hispaniola should monitor the progress
of Dean.
At 800 PM the center of hurricane Dean was located
near latitude 14.0 north,longitude 57.8 west or about 257 miles east south-east of Dominica.
Dean is moving quickly toward the west near 24 mph...39 km/hr...and
this motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. This
motion should bring the center of Dean near the lesser antilles on
Friday.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to 100 mph...130 km/hr...with
higher gusts up to 115 mile per hour. Dean is a category two hurricane on the saffir-
simpson scale. Additional strengthening is forecast during the
next 24 hours.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 25 miles...35 km...from
the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70
miles...110 km.
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