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Tropical Storm Lili Situation Report No. 2


Event Summary

The thirteenth named Tropical System of the 2002 Atlantic Hurricane Season formed in the eastern Atlantic on September 21, 2002 at 10.4N 45.7W or approximately 590mls east of the Windward Islands. TD 13 was upgraded to Tropical Storm Lili on September 22, 2002 when the system was approximately 29mls south of Barbados. Tropical Storm Watches were issued for the islands of the Eastern Caribbean from Guadeloupe in the north to the Grenada in the south on September 22, 2002. Tropical Storm Lili impacted the islands of Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia between Sunday September 22 until the early morning of Tuesday September 24, 2002 when the all clear was issued.

Tropical Storm Lili was downgraded to an open wave in the central Caribbean Sea before regenerating and reclassified as a Tropical Storm once again and impacted the islands of the northern Caribbean.

TS Lili had characteristics of 45 -- 55mph sustained wind speeds with gusts up to 65 -- 75mph. St Vincent reported experiencing near hurricane force wind conditions. Rainfall estimates ranged from 2 to 4inches in most areas. No significant flooding situations were reported in any of the islands. However Storm Surges were reported in NE St. Vincent, Barbados, Saint Lucia and N. Grenada

Following initial efforts at assessing damages, preliminary reports and estimates suggest that the island of St. Vincent was hardest hit with Barbados also being significantly impacted. In St. Vincent four casualties were recorded, EC$40m loss in the agricultural (Banana) sector and over 370 homes received minor to major damages. Barbados suffered over Bds$200,000 in the agricultural (Poultry) sector with damages to over 400 housing units. The estimate of damages in Saint Lucia presently stands at approximately EC$20.3m with the agriculture sector accounting for EC$20m of the total.

BARBADOS

The Impact

TS Lili affected mainly the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Philip, St. Lucy and Christ Church. Preliminary impact data indicates that over 400 housing units were damaged, 43 reports of fallen trees and utility poles resulting in power outages and disruption in telephone service in many areas. The lack of power in some areas resulted in the unavailability of water supply in many areas as pumps were rendered inoperable.

Damages were also reported in the Agricultural Sector particularly to Banana crops and 3 poultry farms.

The Response

The Government of Barbados based on the advice of the National Meteorological Service and the Central Emergency Relief Organisation (CERO) issued instructions for the activation of the national emergency contingency arrangements which included closing of schools, government offices and businesses on Monday September 23, 2002. Public advisories were issued regarding preparedness activities and location of shelters.

Following the passage of Lili, a sub-committee of Cabinet was convened to review the impact on the island. The acting Prime Minister Mia Motley instructed the Barbados Defence Force to make all its resources available to support CERO with the recovery effort. The Acting Prime Minister also appealed to the nation on a whole to assist with the recovery effort.

It was reported at the meeting that all utilities had been restored except for minor pockets (2%) served by the Barbados Water Authority.

The CERO Secretariat is also indicating that the areas of greatest need at this time are for assistance with roofing materials and support for the agricultural sector.

GRENADA

The Impact

From rapid assessment done by members of the District Disaster committees and the Police in some areas, it was reported that the storm affected all areas of the island. The north and north west of the island were more severely affected. This includes St. Patrick's, St. Mark's, Carriacou and Petit Martinique. Wind damage to buildings, landslides and disruption of power by fallen trees has been the main devastation reported.

Infrastructure & Housing

Roads, both main and secondary, were impacted by the event. In St. Patrick's, an approximate 16 feet of road has been under-mined, making vehicular traffic impassible.

In Carriacou, dirt roads were washed away in many areas.

The Gouvey and Mahoe bridges in St. Patrick's have been broken while the bridge in Red Mudd, St. Patrick's was partly damaged.

One dwelling house was completely destroyed, being smashed by a landslide. Five (5) houses lost their entire roof while eight (8) sustained partial damages.

One wooden shop was swept away by a river in St. Patrick's, the Berean Camp which houses part of the St. Patrick's R.C. School received partial damage to its roof.

The warehouse of the Grenada Cocoa Association in Mt. Horne suffered some minor damages to part of its roof by a fallen tree. In Carriacou, the roof of the Government's storage house on the farm in Limlair was also damaged as well as the roof in Belair Hospital.

Critical Facilities and Utilities

The National Water and Sewerage Authority suffered damages to some of their main pipelines. Water supplies have been disrupted in many communities on the island.

There was nation wide power outage. However power was restored in St. George's shortly after the passage of Lili (within 8 hours). The northern, eastern and northwestern areas are without electricity as poles are still down.

Telephone communications remained intact. Damages have not been reported.

Agriculture & Livestock

A vegetable farm in St. Patrick's was inundated. Many banana trees fell and large trees blocked roads. Three (3) sheep drowned in Petit Martinique due to flooding.

Health

The Health Clinic at Sauteurs was inaccessible since fallen trees blocked roads leading to the facility.

The medical clinic in Petit Martinique sustained damages to part of its roof while the hospital in Belair, Carriacou was flooded in some parts.

Response Action

The District Disaster Damage Assessment sub-committee in most districts undertook the task expected of them and did a rapid assessment of the situation. Members of the Royal Grenada Police Force also assisted in reporting damages to the National Disaster Office.

The National Management Committee for Damage Assessment under the Ministry of Finance is expected to do the comprehensive assessment of the impact, while respective sectors are expected to gather data on the impact of the event on their entity.

Needs

Priority Action List

  • Victim support -- repairs to dwelling house
  • Continued clearing of roads and clearing of slides
  • Restoration of water
  • Restoration of power


Facility Repair

Repairs to the Medical Station in Petit Martinique

Repair to Belair Hospital, Carriacou

Infrastructure

  • Repairs of damages to roads especially in St. Patrick's
  • Construction of retaining walls in St. Mark's


Summary

  • A table of damages sustained is attached
  • Needs and damage assessment ongoing
  • The District Disaster Committees commended for their efforts in conducting the rapid assessment.
TROPICAL STORM LILI - REPORTED DAMAGES
Totally Destroyed Structures
#
Description
Address
Owner
1 Small wooden shop washed away by river Madeys, St. Patrick's Mr. Tan
1 Wooden dwelling house smashed by landslide Red Mudd, St. Patrick's Elwin Narine
House Roof Lost
1 Dwelling house Mirabeau, St. Andrew's Leslyn Noel
1 Dwelling house Harford Village, St. Andrew's Emelda John
1 Dwelling house Morne Lounge, St. George's Dominic Holas
2 Dwelling houses Morne Tout, St. George's Wilfred Alexander Ann Edwards
Partly Damaged Roofs
1 Dwelling house Mirabeau, St. Andrew's Wilma Charles
1 Dwelling house Byelands, St. Andrew's Claire Adonis
1 Medical Centre Petite Martinique Government of Grenada
1 Dwelling house Beaureguard, St. Andrew's Alysious Barriteau
2 Dwelling houses Grand Anse Housing Scheme Ms. Alison Miller
1 Association Warehouse Mt. Horne, St. Andrew's Grenada Cocoa
1 Berean Camp (housing RC School) St. Patrick's Berean Church
1 Dwelling house Petite Carenage, Carriacou Faithman Fleary
1 Storage Building (Farm) Limlair, Carriacou Government of Grenada
2 Dwelling houses Petite Martinique Rosalyn De rocheFlorida Bethel
Landslides/Rock-fall
Parish
Area
Magnitude
St. Patrick's Chantimelle
Mt. Craven
Morne Fendue
Red Mud
Large
Large
Large
Large
St. Andrew's Mt. Horne
Belmont
Medium
Medium
St. David's
Carriacou Bogles
Belair
Mt. Pleasant
Mt. D'or
Small
Small
Small
Small
St. Mark's Crayfish Bay
La Source
Large
Large


Other damages

7 utility poles fell

Flooding in Grenville and Pearls, St. Andrew's

Broken bridge -- Gouvey, St. Patrick's

Broken bridge -- Mahoe, St. Patrick's

Damaged bridge -- Red Mudd, St. Patrick's

Gas station in Morne Fendue, St. Patrick's flooded

Vegetable farm in La Fortune, St. Patrick's inundated

Rock fall in Belmont, St. Andrew's

Slides in Chantimelle, Mt. Craven, Morne Fendue, St. Patrick's

Broken 12" water main (NAWASA), Mt. Rich

Numerous trees fell

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

The Impact

The assessment process continues. Preliminary reports indicate the following:

  • 4 lives lost
  • 150 houses received major damage, many losing their roofs;
  • 217 houses received minor damage;
  • Up to today, 178 persons are still in shelters around the country;
  • Two schools -- the Questelles Government and the St. Joseph Convent, Marriaqua lost their roofs;
  • The roof of the Rose Hall Police Station was blown off;
  • Some areas of the Community College were flooded;
  • Bridges in the Fenton and Queens Drive area received structural damages.

During the storm, approximately 500 persons sought refuge in many of the emergency shelters that were opened throughout the country.

Currently 178 persons are occupying ten (10) shelters at Sandy Bay, Owia, Rockies, Layou and Glenn. Government is providing relief supplies in the form of food, blankets, cots and other amenities to ensure that their temporary stay at these shelters is as comfortable as possible.

The total cost of this damage is estimated to be approximately EC$40 million.

  • Damage to housing and public buildings is estimated at - $4m
  • Damage to the Infrastructure (mainly our roads) - $2m
  • Coastal damage is estimated at - $4m
  • And more significantly damage to our agricultural
  • Industry is estimated at - $30m

Field crops such as arrowroot and dasheen were not adversely affected. Tree crops such as avocados, golden apples, mangoes and coconuts suffered insignificant losses.

Bananas and plantains were the worst affected. Losses were spread throughout the producing areas, but some individual farmers experienced total loss while others escaped unscathed.

Areas, which were more severely affected, were Collins and Richland Park in the Marriaqua Valley, Yambou Pass, Maroon Hill, some areas of Greggs, Roseau in Lauders, Mt. Greenan, Park Hill, Mt. Young, Congo Valley, Langley Park, Orange Hill, Tournama, Richmond.

The Response

Throughout the day of Sunday 23rd, officials of the Met Office and the National Emergency Organisation monitored the progress of tropical depression number 13. By early Monday morning when it was apparent that this tropical system might pose a threat to the country, the then Acting Prime Minister Honourable Sir Vincent Ian Beache was fully briefed and the Government took the following actions.

  1. The National Emergency Organisation went into full alert stage and stepped up the process of informing the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines of the threat posed by this storm.

  2. The decision to close all schools was taken and communicated via the Radio Stations.

  3. An Emergency meeting of National Emergency Advisory Council was convened at 9:00 am under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Sir Vincent I. Beache, and a decision was taken to activate the National Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

  4. At 11:00 am word was received that Barbados was experiencing winds gusting at over 55 miles per hour. An immediate decision was taken to close down the public service and to send the workers home so that they could attend to their families and properties.

  5. Immediately following the meeting of the National Emergency Advisory Council, the Acting Prime Minister held a live press conference to announce to the nation the prompt decisions that had to be taken.

In order to respond to the crisis, the Cabinet took several decisions to alleviate the suffering of those affected. These were:
  1. Persons who have suffered minor damage to be provided with materials rehabilitate their homes. Priority will be given to those Persons in shelters.

  2. Persons whose homes suffered major damage to be provided with technical assistance and building materials to assist with the reconstruction process. The provision of this technical assistance is in response to the observation by the assessment team that a lot of the damage resulted from structural weaknesses.

  3. The analyses of the damage revealed that a significant number of those affected resided in hazardous locations. The Physical Planning Department has been mandated to examine the possibility of relocation.

  4. The Questelles Government and the St. Joseph Convent, Marriaqua schools, which lost their roofs, will be repaired immediately by Government. All efforts will be made to ensure that the repairs will be completed in the shortest possible time in order to minimize the loss of instructional time.

  5. The Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, the Honourable Julian Francis has been given overall responsibility for the rehabilitation process.

  6. Assistance with the funeral arrangements to the relatives of the persons who lost their lives and Memorial Services to be held for the two (2) students who died.


SAINT LUCIA

The Impact

The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) led assessment effort, is ongoing in all affected areas of the island. The following preliminary damage report and estimate was submitted earlier today;

i. Damages to Dennery

Walls, general cleaning and clearing of drains $30,000.00
Sand Replacement $55,000.00
Partial Road reinstatement; 95 meters of hardcore $15,000.00
Sub-Total $100,000.00

ii. Utilities

Water No Damages reported
Electricity $87,000.00
Telephone $30,000.00
Sub-Total $117,000.00

iii. Ministry of Woks& Public Utilities

(drains, land slide clearance) $37,000.00
Ministry of Agriculture

(4000 acres of Bananas) $20m

iv. Saint Lucia National Trust

(tree clearance) $2000.00

v. Total preliminary damages estimate EC$20,256000.00*

* No damage estimates have yet been received from the Health, Education, Business and Tourism Sectors.

The Response

Warning and notification about the storm were done from Sunday. It is important to mention that the new Hurricane Plan and its emergency procedures were successfully tested and were useful in the activation of the response by having determined previously the conditions that trigger the warning and the notification procedures.

This allowed for the initiation of a pre-strike Meeting on Sunday evening which provided enough time to give an adequate response. Shelter activation and evacuation of endangered areas was arranged and in operation starting early Monday morning.

A final pre-strike Meeting was held on Monday at 11 am and all offices and schools were closed. It was determined that commerce should close at 11:30am.

EOC was manned while the storm impacted on the night of the 23rd and maintained communication with the National and District Committees. Communications worked fine at all times. The Cadet Corps volunteers manned the EOC Communication Room.

The members of the National and District Committees responded excellently in the situation.

The Transportation Committee, Red Cross Supply Management Committee and the Shelter Management Committee in Dennery, Anse La Raye, Vieux Fort and other areas conducted the evacuation process. Specific shelters were activated to receive evacuees from the aforementioned areas.

The Police and the Fire service canceled all leave and activated all their resources to protect the population particularly in the endangered areas.

GIS disseminated information at all times through the media about the storm.

Regional Response

The CDERA CU continues to collate the country assessments and provide updates as necessary. The Coordinator continues to provide assistance to the CERO EOC whilst the Deputy Coordinator was dispatched to St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday September 27th to have first hand discussions with Government Officials and the National Emergency Organisation on the response, and damage assessment efforts.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Trinidad & Tobago also mobilized a team of emergency managers to visit St. Vincent & the Grenadines to view the impact and observe the emergency response and damage assessment efforts.

The Eastern Caribbean Donor Group remains on standby to assist affected countries as necessary. The OECS Secretariat will also coordinate any response to the affected countries with the ECDG.

The CDERA CU continues to monitor the situation with respect to TS Lili and it impacts on the island of Jamaica. Reports will be provided as information is received from the Jamaican Authorities.