Dean bears down on Dominica

As Dean moved West through the Atlantic Ocean weather and disaster officials here were hoping that the category 1 hurricane would trek further away from Dominica. However Dean turned slightly towards the North passing between Martinique and St.Lucia brining the eye of the hurricane closer to Dominica.

Nathaniel Isaac, Senior Meteorological Officer, who is tracking Dean’s movement and providing regular updates on the storm’s latest developments to thousands glued to the radio, said moments ago that Dean’s Northern movement may have also resulted in the formation of a rejuvenated eye and a more organized system.

Isaac described the latest development as “bad news” for Dominica. Dean began battering the island at about 2:00am this morning. The first bands of the system were accompanied by very intense winds and some rain. However, by early dawn, this pattern had given way to heavy incessant downpours with intermittent gusts in excess of 100 miles per hour.

Notwithstanding this turn of events, Dominica seems to have been spared the full brunt of Dean. According to Isaac, the island was only being affected by the tail of the hurricane. However, he along with the Coordinator of the Disaster Preparedness Office, Cecil Shillingford, have been advising residents on the state-owned DBS radio all night long not to venture outdoors until the storm was over and the hurricane warning had been lifted.

So far people seem to have heeded their warnings.

Earlier a number of coastal and flood-prone areas had been evacuated, boats and other fishing tackle moved inland and elderly citizens and others moved to pre-designated hurricane shelters across the island. By 5:00pm most of the city was already securely shut down and boarded up. Government as well as private sector workers were sent home at 3:30 pm on Thursday to make final preparations for the onslaught on Dean.

It’s now 5:00 am and all of Dominica except disaster response units, is securely tucked away inside their boarded houses and hurricane shelters. It has been raining heavily and non-stop for the last four or five hours and the howling and fierce winds are already wreaking untold havoc and leaving behind a trail of destruction. All that can be done is to wait, hope and pray that Dean goes away soon leaving behind as little devastation as possible.