Well, Jamaica started the Hurricane Season with rain...
...it has been raining cats and dogs since last Wednesday (June 1) and there seems to be no end in sight!
[The Hurricane Season lasts from June 1 to November 30 of each year and is the period of time when hurricanes and storms affect the Atlantic basin - the Caribbean, South-Eastern USA and Latin America.
Twenty-five cyclones in the form of sixteen (16) storms and nine (9) storms are forecasted for the season this year].
Jamaica has been under a Flash Flood Warning from over the weekend..meaning that flooding has occurred and/or is imminent for low-lying areas for the following parishes: Manchester, Portland, St. Thomas,Kingston, St.Andrew, St.Catherine, Mandeville, St Elizabeth.
Persons living in these areas are being asked to be on the lookout for flooding.
The rest of the island is under a Flash Flood Watch...meaning that flooding may occur in these other parishes.
The bad weather has been caused by an area of low pressure that has been over the island since Friday.
The system began moving North West of the island today and is now located west of Jamaica.
More rains are forecasted for Jamaica until Friday.
The damage caused by heavy rains has been somewhat mitigated by drain cleaning programmes that took place prior to the rainy season (May-June) and the quick action of the National Works Agency (NWA) in clearing debris from blocked roads and drains.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness (ODPEM), is also on alert, should flooded-out and displaced persons need assistance with temporary shelter.
Gillian
Sources Include
1) CVM Television's News Watch Hour at 8:00 p.m., June 9,2011
2) Article, "2011 Atlantic hurricane season", via Wikipedia.org, accessed June 6,2011
2) Nationwide Radio, accessed June 6,2011
3) Power 106 FM, accessed June 6,2011
