At the marina in Cabo San Lucas, José Ceseña was hauling out of the water the boat he usually uses to ferry tourists around on tours. With the port closed and a hurricane coming, he said it wasn’t worth risking his craft.
Homero Blanco, the state commander of the National Guard, said beaches at the resort had been ordered closed and Guard troops were sent to clear people from the seashore.
The federal government posted 500 marines to the resort to help with storm preparations, and municipal officials said as many as 39 emergency shelters could be opened if needed.
A hurricane warning was issued for the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, and the forecast track would take a weakened Norma toward the mainland of Mexico’s western Pacific coast as a tropical storm.
Norma was expected to weaken somewhat as it neared land, but not as much as originally forecast.
In the Atlantic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Tammy had winds of 85 mph (140 kph), and hurricane warnings were issued for the islands of Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, and St. Kitts and Nevis. Tammy was moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kmh).
In the Atlantic, Hurricane Tammy was about 55 miles (85 kilometers) east of Martinique and 135 miles (220 kilometers) southeast of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and was moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).
Tammy was expected to remain at hurricane strength and even strengthen slightly as it moved toward the Lesser Antilles through Saturday passing by Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda. Both Martinique and Guadeloupe are French overseas departments.
The hurricane center said in a report that “heavy rainfall and flooding (are) likely over much of the Lesser Antilles.”
Two weeks after Tropical Storm Phillippe rolled through Antigua and Barbuda dumping six to eight inches of rain and plunging both islands into darkness, residents of the islands braced for Tammy’s arrival. The slow-moving system was forecast to bring up to 12 inches over a twin island nation where the devastation of Hurricane Irma in 2017 and recent wind damage and flooding from Philippe are still fresh memories.
“This means therefore, that the earth is still somewhat saturated and with additional rainfall, the potential for flooding is elevated,” Prime Minister Gaston Browne said in a nationwide broadcast on Friday afternoon. He urged residents to take all necessary steps to secure life and property.
Government offices, banks, and most non-retail businesses closed early on Friday to allow staff to prepare. Residents’ rush to stock up on necessities caused gridlock throughout St John’s and near popular shopping centers and supermarkets.
Local disaster management officials announced plans to open an estimated 40 shelters in communities throughout the country.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
