Courtesy of the NOAA National Hurricane Center

Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

DEADLY AND dangerous Hurricane Dean has Jamaica in its firing line and predictions from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, are that the storm will hit Jamaica later this evening.

Duty forecaster at the Meteorological Services, Evon Thompson, said yesterday: "The system is on a track towards Jamaica and does not appear to be shifting. All interests in Jamaica need to be at the highest level of preparedness, as it is actually heading in our general direction."

'Dean', the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, was at 4 p.m. yesterday, moving west at 17 miles an hour, and a general movement toward the west and north west was expected over the next 24 hours, according to the Miami-based centre.

Hurricane-force winds associated with Dean extend 60 miles from the centre, and the tropical storm winds extend as wide as 250 miles.

Jamaica, a country of 4,411 square miles, is 146 miles long and 51 miles wide and with the country in the path of Dean, a directhit is highly possible.

Yesterday, the Meteorological Services of Jamaica issued a hurricane warning for the country. Conditions associated with a hurricane watch include dangerously high waters, and or exceptionally high waves.

Small-craft operators have been encouraged to remain in safe harbour until all warning messages have been lifted and sea and wind conditions have returned to normal.

Dean hit the Eastern Caribbean islands of St. Lucia and Martinique earlier Friday. In Dominica, a woman and her seven-year-old son were killed when a rain-soaked hill gave way and destroyed their house. In St. Lucia, a 62-year-old man was the storm's first casualty, drowning in a swollen river as he tried to retrieve his cow.

As the country braces for the hurricane, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has urged all Jamaicans to unite in the face of this adversity.

"Everyone must take the threat very seriously and put in place all necessary safety measures," said Mrs. Simpson Miller in a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) release.

The Prime Minister also said that Jamaicans must pay special attention to the most vulnerable - children, elderly the sick and the physically challenged. She also gave instructions that all police, fire and other personnel on leave must return to work immediately and that all public buildings and state records and documents must be properly secured.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas yesterday imposed 48-hour-long curfews in designated commercial and industrial areas across Jamaica beginning yesterday at 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Curfews

During the designated hours of the curfews, all persons within the boundaries of the curfews are required to remain within their premises unless otherwise authorised in writing by members of the security forces.

Yesterday, Brenda LaGrange Johnson, U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, said the United States stood ready to help Jamaica should the island take a beating.

"The U.S. Embassy in Kingston stands ready to help the Jamaican people.

"We are praying for the best but also preparing for the worst. We encourage all Jamaicans to work together to help one another and to be responsible citizens," Johnson said in a statement yesterday.

A release for the U.S. Embassy here said yesterday: "In anticipation of a possible response, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has pre-positioned assessment teams in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean islands that could be affected by the hurricane. In addition, USAID has US$2,000,000 in commodities warehoused in Miami ready for distribution in the aftermath of 'Dean'."

The last time Jamaica suffered a direct hit from a Hurricane was September of 1988 when 'Gilbert', a Category Three hurricane ravaged the country. About 45 people were killed. Gilbert was the most severe hurricane to hit Jamaica since Hurricane Charlie in 1951. It destroyed crops, buildings, houses and roads and even turned small aircraft into shambles.

The current forecast track of Dean is similar to that taken by Hurricane Gilbert.