Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management 4A Orange Grove Road, Trincity, Tacarigua Phone: 1 (868) 640-1285 Fax: 1 (868)

640-8988 Public Advisory Tuesday July 07, 2013 10:00 a.m.

The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service Issues Tropical Storm Chantal Advisory #4
The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service has indicated that as of 5:00 am, Tropical Storm Chantal was centred at about 13.3N latitude and 58.4W longitude or about 120 kilometers east of Barbados, with estimated minimum central pressure of 1010millibars. Its general movement is towards the West-Northwest near 43 kilometers per hour and this is expected to continue over the next 24-48 hours. At its current speed and track, Chantal is expected to move through the Lesser Antilles, in the vicinity of Barbados, later this morning and then into the eastern Caribbean Sea this afternoon and evening. Maximum sustained winds are near 85km/hr with higher gusts. Tropical Storm force winds extend outward up to 150 km mainly to the north of the center. Some strengthening to Chantal is forecast during the next 48 hours. Given the proximity of its center of passage, Chantal may bring instability to weather conditions in the form of showers or thundershowers in the least or feeder band activity with heavy showers and thundershowers at worst particularly over Tobago and Northern Trinidad. The nature of these systems is generally unpredictable so the public should closely pay attention to updates being issued by the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service concerning Chantal. The ODPM, in its role as the coordinator of emergencies/crises has alerted the first responder agencies and will continue to monitor the situation and will update the public accordingly as more information is received from the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service. Citizens are also advised to monitor the ODPM website, Facebook and all media for updates and for additional information regarding hurricane preparedness. Citizens are also asked to contact 511 if they have been adversely affected.. Consequently, we continue to underscore the following : After heavy rainfall, stay inside until water levels have subsided and it is safe to venture outside. Do not walk / drive through flood waters . Be cautious when walking /driving along hillsides or landslide prone areas. Trinidad and Tobago is NOT currently under any Tropical Storm threat, Watch or Warning. The TT Meteorological Service is monitoring this weather condition and will advise the ODPM if there is a drastic change.

ENDS
Issued by: Public Information, Education and Community Outreach Unit publicinfo.odpm@gmail.com For further information, please contact: ODPM Customer Call Centre511

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