Préfet Vincent Berton briefed the press on Tuesday morning on the impact the passing of Tropical Storm Philippe is likely to have. Third Vice President of the Collectivité Dominique Louisy (centre) and Mélodie Illidge-Jenkins from the Disaster Management and Prevention Department (left) explained the precautions the Collectivité is taking. (Robert Luckock photo)
MARIGOT--All schools, colleges, high schools and kindergartens will remain closed today, Wednesday, the Collectivité and Préfecture announced Tuesday evening. The services of the Collectivité will be open from 8:00am Wednesday.
The French side remains under an Orange Vigilance watch for heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong wind gusts. An order prohibiting swimming and water sports activities was issued Tuesday for St. Martin and St. Barthélemy until 6:00am Thursday, October 5. The main concern for authorities is flooding in low-lying areas. The Préfet also advised people to keep off the roads.
Improving weather conditions are expected late Wednesday morning. A scheduled Air Caraïbes flight to Pointe-a-Pitre Tuesday afternoon was cancelled, causing inconvenience to many passengers at Grand Case Airport.
The Préfecture confirmed there were no incidents so far on road networks, or interruptions from Electricité de France (EDF), water supply, etc. Law enforcement (Gendarmerie and Territorial police) and emergency services remain mobilised, with the deployment of Gendarmerie reinforcements (10 mobile patrols on the ground).
