John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter
THE ISLAND will continue to be affected by heavy rains today as the outer bands of the system associated with Hurricane Wilma remain over Jamaica.
Yesterday the National Meteorological Centre extended its flash flood warning for low-lying and flood-prone areas of the island. "What we are still experiencing are the outer bands of Hurricane Wilma and we are still expecting cloudy to overcast conditions with some squally showers and isolated thunder storms," said Ronald Moodie, duty forecaster at the Meteorological Centre.
However Doppler radar indicated that moderate to heavy and sometimes very heavy showers and thunderstorms continued to affect all parishes. The intensity of the rainfall was expected to gradually reduce as the hurricane moved further away.
Hurricane Wilma, which has been described as the strongest tropical cyclone of all time, continues to move further away from Jamaica towards the west-northwest near 11 kilometres per hour. At 4:00 p.m. yesterday the centre of the Category Five hurricane was located 570 kilometres west of Negril point. Maximum sustained winds decreased yesterday to near 260 kilometres per hour.
In the meantime Prime Minister P.J. Patterson said all schools would remain closed today when a decision would be made on when to reopen. "Although we do not wish our children to miss a single school day ... safety of our children must be our main concern at this time," the Prime Minister said in a broadcast to the nation last night.
PERSONS REMAINED IN SHELTERS
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) said 241 persons remained in shelters last night in Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Thomas, St. Catherine and Clarendon.
Up to late yesterday several communities were still without electricity. The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) said communities in Clarendon, St. Catherine, Portland, St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Hanover, St. James, Trelawny and Kingston and St. Andrew, had no electricity. The light and power company said its crews were being hampered due to inaccessibility to some areas as a result of flooding and landslides.
