Statement by the Governor  re: Tropical Storm Jeanne

Wednesday 15^th September 2004, 5pm

 The strong winds and rainy conditions we’ve been experiencing were the result of tropical storm Jeanne that developed rather quickly just off Guadeloupe. Although Jeanne tracked well to the south of the B.V.I we still felt its effects. The good news, for the BVI at least is that Jeanne is rapidly ceasing to impact on us.

Rainfall in Road Town today was 2.89 inches and the highest wind gust was 36 mph at around noon.

Tonight and tomorrow we can still expect to see occasional rain squalls and peak gusts which could be up to 50 mph as the tail end of the system approaches from our south. Another inch or two of rain is possible. Sea conditions will not start to improve until late tonight so a small craft advisory remains in effect.

The Department of Disaster Management began monitoring and issuing weather advisories from Monday at 5:00 pm and have continued right through until today on a shift system. PWD mobilized their teams at around 7 this morning currently all roads have been cleared including a small landslide at Brewer’s Bay. PWD also report that most of the public drains are clear. However they will continue to monitor the weather conditions into tonight and will mobilize additional crews if necessary.

Power remained throughout except for one brief wide-area outage which was quickly rectified by the BVIEC.  Power to most of the Territory has since been restored. The Terrence. B. Lettsome airport and all seaports have remained open.

Wave action and storm surge have put debris onto the coastal road between Sea Cow’s Bay and West End, in the Carrot Bay area and at the Beef Island Bridge. There’ve been no significant reports from the sister islands. There has been no flooding or damage any school or government health facility. The decision to close schools was based on the deteriorating weather early this morning.

A decision regarding opening of government schools tomorrow will be made by the Chief Education Officer later today. However, there are no current indications which suggest that government offices should not operate normally tomorrow. All public servants are expected to report to work at the usual time.

I am grateful to all those who have stayed at their posts during this unpleasant weather. They can be proud of a job well done.