JAMAICA OBSERVATIONS

Dorcas Fowler and her grandson Barrington Fowler stand where they home in Sand Shore East Portland used to be; before it was destroyed during the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav. (Photo: Everard Owen)

Cable & Wireless Jamaica said that all its core networks—mobile, fixed and Internet – remained operational before, during and after the storm.

C&W reported that its fixed network is showing a 98 per cent service; while its mobile network is registering just above 95 percent, as some of the cell sites which had lost electrical power, due to the passage of the storm, are now back in service. Worst affected are cellular customers in St Thomas, where Tropical Storm Gustav caused extensive damage, leaving roads blocked and power still out.

Lack of accessibility to locations and power outages are hampering repair efforts by teams of C&W workers in many areas of the island.

C&Ws is appealing to members of the public NOT to cut downed, shifted or broken telephone cables but to instead report the problems to its Emergency Operations Centre. In most cases where cables have been dislodged if they are not broken, service will remain uninterrupted, advised C&W.

The numbers for the Cable & Wireless Emergency Operational Centre are: 1-888-295-3621 (Charge-free); or 929-9834.

Jamaica Urban Transport Company (JUTC) Marketing Manager Lenworth Simms says that t regular bus service, which was suspended on Thursday, August 28, due to the impending passage of Tropical Storm Gustav, resumed today.

Employees are being asked to report for duty, to facilitate the smooth operation of the company’s public passenger service.

All Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) employees, who are rostered for duty as of Sunday, August 31, are being asked to report to work at their respective locations.

These locations are the Rockfort, Portmore, and Spanish Town depots, and the Ashenheim Road post.

Simms said that shuttle arrangements are being made for employees, residing on the eastern side of the Harbour View Bridge in St Andrew, to take them to their posts. The bridge was destroyed during the passage of Gustav, marooning persons in communities on its eastern side.

He said that buses will park in the vicinity of the foot bridge, from 3:00 am daily. This arrangement will be maintained until further notice, he added.

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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) — Gustav became a hurricane again on Friday as it plowed toward Cayman Islands resorts, the start of a buildup that could take it to the U.S. Gulf Coast as a fearsome Category-3 storm three years after Hurricane Katrina.

Gustav, which killed 71 people in the Caribbean, was expected to swirl through the Cayman Islands, a tiny offshore tax haven studded with resorts and cruise-ship souvenir shops, before crossing Cuba's cigar country and heading into the Gulf of Mexico by Sunday.

Well-heeled tourists fled Cayman hotels by air, while Katrina victims in Mississippi still living in emergency cottages and trailers were told to evacuate beginning this weekend.

Hotels on the Cayman Islands...

Read More "Cayman, Cuba, New Orleans prepare for Gustav"

Graphic: United States National Hurricane Centre

Met Service 8:00 pm bulletin:

A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for Jamaica as Gustav continues to strengthen while approaching the Cayman Islands. This means that tropical storm conditions, including possible sustained wind speeds of 63-117 km/h (40-74 mph), are expected to continue over Jamaica.

At 7:00 p.m. the centre of Hurricane Gustav was located near latitude 19.3˚N and longitude 80.0˚W. This is about 220 km (135 miles) northwest of Negril Point, Jamaica, or 145 km (90 miles) east of Grand Cayman.

Gustav is moving towards the northwest at 18 km/h (11 mph) and this motion is expected to continue during the next day or two. On this track, the centre of the storm will be near or over the Cayman Islands tonight and over western Cuba on Saturday.

Maximum sustained winds have increase to 130 km/h (80 mph), with higher gusts. Gustav is now a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale but it could strengthen to become a major hurricane before reaching western Cuba. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 km (30 miles) from the centre and Tropical Storm force winds extend as far as 260 km (160 miles).

Rain bands, on the eastern and southern sides of Hurricane Gustav, continue to pound Jamaica along with strong, gusty winds and these are expected to continue for at least the next 6-10 hours. This will result in extensive flooding over low-lying and flood-prone areas. Some improvement in weather conditions is projected for Saturday.

Small craft operators, including fishers from the cays and banks, should remain in safe harbour until warning messages are lifted and wind and sea conditions return to normal.

The next Bulletin on Hurricane Gustav will be issued at 11:00 p.m. today.

The bridge connecting Harbour View and Bull Bay which was damage by Tropical Storm Gustav between Thursday and Friday morning. (Photo: Mark Bell/JIS)

The Port Authority of Jamaica is advising shipping agents, port operators and the general public that following the passage of Hurricane Gustav, the Port of Kingston and all other ports in Jamaica will re-open to shipping from 7:00 am tomorrow.

In other transport news...

Flights today began arriving at Kingston and Montego Bay airports with normal schedules expected to resume tomorrow.

Meanwhile the Jamaica Urban Transport Company (JUTC) is running limited services in the Corporate Area with all employees expected to report for duty tomorrow.

The National Works Agency (NWA) says that it is working to clear what it reports are more than 160 blocked roads.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding (second left), meets with representatives of government agencies, involved in disaster preparedness and emergency management, at Jamaica House earlier today, where he was given a preliminary briefing on damage caused by Tropical Storm Gustav. (Photo: JIS)

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has pledged government aid to communities and residents badly affected by the passage of  Tropical Storm Gustav.

Golding told journalists at a media briefing at Jamaica House this afternoon that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has been ordered to investigate reports of deaths in the St Andrew communities of Kintyre and Tavern, in order to provide assistance to persons who have lost family members and friends.

Several houses in both communities reportedly collapsed and fell into the Hope River, which is adjacent to both areas. He also advised that assistance would  be forthcoming to persons who lost houses.

"Those persons, whose houses were lost, we will be investigating those cases to try to assist them as quickly as possible, in relocating them to safer ground, and assisting them to provide proper shelter for themselves,” said the Prime Minister.

He also expressed condolences to the persons who lost family members and friends.

However he said that houses had been built along the Hope River in areas unsuitable development, where he emphasised, strong action would be taken to prevent further construction.

“I have spoken with the Mayor of Kingston and St. Andrew, because it is action that will have to be taken through the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). We are not going to allow any further construction. We are going to have to do a review of what is there now, to determine where persons will have to be relocated. We will also have to determine what engineering works, river training, provision of groynes, will need to be done, to secure those areas that can be secured, on a permanent basis,” he said.

He said that preliminary estimate suggests that up to 150 houses across the island have been destroyed, many of which were in the Spring Bank area of Portland.

Regarding the Harbour View bridge in St Andrew, and the Westmoreland bridge in St Mary, both of which have been destroyed,  the Prime Minister said the National Works Agency (NWA), has made arrangements to commence the erection of temporary Bailey Bridges. The  Harbour View bridge links St Thomas with Kingston and other areas of the south coast, while the Westmoreland bridge links the communities of Junction and Highgate in St Mary.

“The NWA has given me an assurance that they will work virtually around the clock (on the Harbour View bridge), and we hope to complete the erection of that temporary bailey bridge, early next week. We will then have to do an assessment of the damage to see how quickly we will be able to commence construction work to have that restored. We are hoping to  apply a similar treatment (to the Westmoreland bridge), by providing a temporary bailey bridge there to re-open traffic, as quickly as possible,” he said.

He said that, while the exact number of roads damaged is yet to be determined, 129 have been identified as blocked. Thus far, 25 of these have been cleared.

“We do know that some of the roads have suffered major land slippages and landslides that we can clear. But there are a number of them that have also suffered major breakaways, and those will require detailed engineering assessment, before we can determine how quickly those roads can be re-opened,” he said.

He said that a preliminary assessment of the state of drains, rivers and gullies had been done but that a full study, recommending necessary repair work, would not be ready before September.