Cabinet Secretariat
Press Release
The general public is hereby advised that the Federal Government is closely monitoring the development of Hurricane Danny as it continues to make its way across the Atlantic Ocean towards the islands of the Eastern Caribbean archipelago.
According to reliable information from our Meteorological Office at R L Bradshaw International Airport; and both the Weather Channel and the National Hurricane Center in the USA, Hurricane Danny is now classified as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (mph). At 5:00 p.m. today, Hurricane Danny was located at 860 miles east of the Leeward Islands, and travelling WNW at 10 mph. Based on the present trajectory, the weather system is scheduled to impact St. Kitts and Nevis by the morning of Monday, August 24, 2015.
Acting Prime Minister, the Hon Shawn Richards, wishes to assure all citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis that the Federal Government is taking seriously the potential threats to life and property that may be posed by the passage of Hurricane Danny. The Acting Prime Minister was careful to note that the public should not take for granted the current predictions that the weather system would be downgraded. He noted:
“Although most computer models of the Met Office, the National Hurricane Centre, and the Weather Channel are predicting that Danny will be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it approaches St. Kitts and Nevis, no one should take it for granted that its effects will be minimal or negligible, “ the Acting Prime Minister Richards said. “The storm is expected to pass us with wind speeds of approximately 65 mph, which can still have considerable impact on property, life and public infrastructure.”
Minister Richards made similar cautionary statements at Wednesday’s meeting of the National Disaster Mitigation Council that was convened at NEMA Headquarters. He wishes to reassure the general public that all of NEMA’s emergency response subcommittees have been mobilised.
Acting Prime Minister Richards has announced that due to the likely passage of Tropical Storm Danny on Monday morning, a decision has been taken by Cabinet, with the approval of the Acting Governor General Tapley Seaton Q.C., C.V.O., that all
Government offices in the Federation will be closed on Monday, August 24, 2015.
Similar closures are expected for private sector firms and agencies. Minister Richards also reminds all citizens and residents to make protection of life their major priority; to remain current with the latest weather advisories from official Government sources; and to remain indoors before, during and after the storm until it is declared safe to venture
outside.