Hurricane Marilyn Keeps Caribbean Islanders On Edge One Of Busiest Storm Seasons Shows No Sign Of Letting Up
The fourth hurricane to hit the Caribbean in as many weeks - this one named Marilyn - raced westward on Thursday, menacing islands from Barbados to Puerto Rico.
Marilyn threatened to brush past St. Martin, the Dutch-French island devastated by Hurricane Luis last week.
This year’s hurricane season is one of the busiest on record, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. There were 14 named tropical storms and hurricanes by Sept. 14 in 1936 and 1993; this year has seen 13.
With 2-1/2 months to go, the season that began June 1 seems set to maintain the frenetic pace set by Hurricane Erin, followed by Hurricane Felix, Tropical Storm Iris and Hurricane Luis. The season runs until Nov. 30.
Heavy seas and rain squalls hit Martinique’s north coast on Thursday, and the airport, schools and some businesses were closed as Marilyn passed just northeast of the French island.
Winds up to 80 mph bent coconut trees and ripped off their palm fronds, littering the streets of Fort-de-France, the capital.
Scattered power outages were reported. Some residents in low-lying areas were evacuated to shelters.
Next in line was Dominica, which lost 90 percent of its vital banana crop to Hurricane Luis last week. Schools, businesses and government offices closed as skies darkened and rain pelted the island.
Earlier Thursday, Marilyn damaged 22 homes, downed power lines and uprooted trees in Barbados, about 150 miles southeast of Martinique, said Clive Lord of the Barbados government’s Central Emergency Relief Organization. No injuries were immediately reported.
Southern Barbados, where most of the island’s tourist resorts are located, was unaffected.
Hurricane warnings were posted as far west as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and as far north as the Dutch half of St. Martin. Forecasters urged boaters to secure their vessels by this morning.
Luis sank 200 boats among hundreds that sought safe harbor in St. Martin last week.
In Puerto Rico, Gov. Pedro Rossello announced that banks will be open only until 11 a.m. today and that schools, universities and government offices will be closed. The National Weather Service’s San Juan office urged people to take the warning seriously, fearing they might ignore it because of the number of storms.
It was too soon to say whether Marilyn posed a potential danger to the U.S. mainland.
At 8 p.m. EDT, Marilyn’s center was near the French island of Guadeloupe, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Marilyn was moving toward the northwest at nearly 15 mph.
Hurricane-force winds extended up to 30 miles from the center, with tropical storm-force winds in a band up to 90 miles beyond that.
The National Hurricane Center said Marilyn was bringing 5 to 8 inches of rain, posing the threat of flash floods and mudslides.
Luis, the most powerful hurricane this season, claimed 12 lives in St. Martin, Antigua, Puerto Rico, Dominica and Guadeloupe before shooting north to Newfoundland last week.
Storms are named when steady winds reach 39 mph and become hurricanes if they build to 74 mph.