Scenes of flooding across Barbados.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados--Barbados felt the brunt of Tropical Storm Kirk Thursday evening, into Thursday night and Friday morning, even after the centre of the system passed north of the island.
The tail end of the storm brought violent showers overnight that left many areas flooded – some underwater – and some roads impassable.
After four hours of constant showers, rainfall accumulations of three to five inches had already been recorded, and by 8:00am Friday, that had increased to 9.5 inches.
A flood remained in effect until noon Friday.
The showers abated late Friday morning, and the Met Office said a gradual improvement in conditions was expected as the day progressed.
During the course of the night and early morning, electricity in some areas was disrupted, as was water supply.
Just as had been the case Thursday, authorities said there would be no national shutdown Friday. Although schools remained closed, it was initially announced that all government offices would reopen at 10:00am. However, it was subsequently announced that the resumption of business as usual would be delayed until noon.
In its 11:00am bulletin, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami said Kirk was weakening over the eastern Caribbean Sea, with maximum sustained winds reduced to 45 miles per hour, but the associated weather was still affecting the Windward Islands.
The storm was located about 185 miles west southwest of Martinique and about 360 miles south southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico and moving towards the west northwest at 13 miles per hour.
“This motion is expected to continue through Sunday. On the forecast track, the centre of Kirk or its remnants will move across the eastern and central Caribbean Sea over the next day or two,” the NHC said.
Kirk was forecast to weaken to a tropical depression Friday and then degenerate into a trough of low pressure on Saturday.
The tropical storm warnings for Barbados, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia and Guadeloupe have been discontinued, as well as the tropical storm watch for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. ~ Caribbean360 ~
