Information Notes

Information Note - Hurricane Irene threatens the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bahamas (as of Tuesday August 23, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. EST)

Message: Hurricane Irene threatens the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bahamas.

Event
Hurricane Irene, now a Category 2 hurricane is expected to impact the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bahamas tonight, August 23, 2011 and into tomorrow.

Prognosis
Hurricane Irene, is located near latitude 20.5 North, Longitude 71.0 West as of 1100 am EDT. Irene is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph. On the forecast track the core of Irene will move near or over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas tonight and be near the central Bahamas early Wednesday and near or over the northwestern Bahamas on Thursday.

Impact
Irene is expected to produce storm surge as high as 9 to 13 feet above normal tide levels over the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches are expected in the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

National Actions

Turks and Caicos Islands:

  • A hurricane warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
  • At 8:a.m. this morning, August 23, 2011 a meeting was convened with the DFID office to assess the situation and to accelerate plans.
  • The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) has been activated and all shelters are now open.

Bahamas:

  • A hurricane warning has been issued for the Central and Southeast Bahamas.
  • The Royal Bahamas Defence Force is on full alert.
  • The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) has been activated and systems prepared.
  • A meeting was convened with the Prime Minister and national committees at 10:30 a.m.

Regional Response

The CDEMA Coordinating Unit has been monitoring the situation and maintained contact with threatened states. CDEMA is in contact with the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) on the threat posed by Irene to guide the development of scenarios and operations plans and will continue to monitor the situation. CDEMA has also been working with Sub-regional Focal Point, Jamaica who is the lead for the North-western sub-region to advance arrangements for launching any support if necessary.  CDEMA is also in contact with other partners within the Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) and the RRM is now on standby.

Contact Details: The CDEMA CU 24hr contact number is 1 246 425 0386

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