Shutdown ordered as Turks and Caicos Islands brace for Hurricane Fiona

As an already catastrophic Hurricane Fiona set its sights on the Turks and Caicos Islands after making landfall in the Dominican Republic and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the government of the British territory just south of Florida issued shutdown orders for three of its low-lying islands.

Businesses on the eastern islands of South Caicos, Salt Cay and Grand Turk, the capital, were all ordered to close by 3 p.m. Monday. Residents were told they must be off the roads and indoors by 5 p.m., according to a notice issued by the National Emergency Operations Center.

“All persons are to remain indoors at their residence, place of safety or where they seek shelter until NEOC issues NATIONAL ALL CLEAR,” the agency said in an advisory.

The center of Fiona, which slammed into the Dominican Republic about 3:30 a.m. Monday as a Category 1 storm with 85 mph winds, is forecast to pass near or to the east of the Turks and Caicos on Tuesday. Islanders are expected to experience hurricane conditions, with four to six inches of rain and some areas seeing as much as eight inches. The rainfall is expected to be heavier in the more eastern islands, causing flooding on roads and properties.

Millions without power, massive flooding and at least four dead. Fiona slams islands

On Monday, boaters in South Caicos were securing vessels while residents were stocked up on supplies. Shelters were opened on the island, where landlines went down in 2017 after Hurricane Maria and have not worked since. Residents throughout the chain were also encouraged to contact their nearest Red Cross for sandbags to help protect against flooding.

“Swells generation by Fiona are beginning to affect the Turks and Caicos Islands,” the Turks and Caicos Islands Airport Authority sad Monday in a statement. “These swells will continue to spread westward across the southwestern Atlantic toward the central and northwestern Bahamas and the U.S. east coast through midweek. These conditions could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”

Premier Charles W. Misick, who was in London with British-appointed Gov. Nigel Dakin for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, urged residents to heed the advice and warnings of the disaster management office, and to carry out all necessary preparations to protect their families and property.

“Storms are unpredictable and although the latest track shows TCI may not face a direct impact, the direction of the storm could change and conditions may worsen,” Misick said.

One dead as Hurricane Fiona pounds the Dominican Republic with strong winds and rain

Located in the Atlantic Ocean at the southern tip of the Bahamas island chain, the Turks and Caicos is located about midway between the Bahamas and the island of Hispaniola that Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic. An archipelago with eight main islands and a population under 40,000, the tourist-dependent chain is about 190 miles from the northern coast of Haiti.

In the nearby Bahamas, only one island is expected to be affected by Fiona, Capt. Stephen Russell, head of the National Emergency Management Authority, told the Miami Herald. Around 2 p.m. Tuesday, the storm is expected to be 200 miles east of Mayaguana, the easternmost island of the Bahamas, which is larger than the island of New Providence where the capital of Nassau is located, but has only 173 residents, Russell said.

“They will feel some tropical storm force winds and rain from that system,” he said. “It will be about 30 to 40 mph; they should be able to cope with that.”

Still on Monday, the Bahamas activated shelters on the island and a mail boat was sent to Mayaguana with supplies. “They are in good shape,” Russell said.

Over the weekend, the Bahamas canceled all leave for members of its Defense Force in anticipation of Fiona, which pummeled both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with heavy rains and winds.

In Haiti, authorities remain on alert and said it is too early to say if the disaster-prone nation managed to dodge a bullet. With experts expecting heavy rains in the northern regions of Haiti, interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry appealed for calm Sunday night, amid days of violent protests, looting and demands for his resignation after an announced hike in fuel prices.

On Monday morning, looters attacked a warehouse with hurricane supplies in a section of the northwestern city of Port-de-Paix, which is among several cities placed under high alert for heavy rains and flooding. At least six out of 10 warehouses with pre-positioned emergency supplies have been looted in recent days, the Office of Civil Protection confirmed to the Herald, with a seventh in the northeast currently under threat.

By 6 p.m. Fiona had became a Category 2 storm. Haiti’s disaster response agency warned that Fiona was passing over the northern coast of Haiti, and rain was continuing to fall on several communes in the north and northeast regions.

“In some places it is weak, in some places it is strong,” the Office of Civil Protection said in an advisory, warning of rough seas and a ban on all operations across the waterways.

The United States continued to express concerns about the alarming situation in Haiti, especially in light of Fiona and badly needed storm preparations. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Monday that colleagues tell them that although the population was able to get access to markets over the weekend, the overall situation continues to deteriorate.

“While access to the international airport was temporarily restored, one of the gang coalitions continued to block access to the Varreux port terminal, preventing fuel distribution,” Dujarric said. “The country’s telecommunications and water pump stations rely mostly on fuel to function and national companies warn of alarming shortages. The U.N. programs are on hold due to roadblocks, demonstrations and limited access to fuel.”

Dujarric acknowledged that the U.N., which is hosting the General Assembly in New York this week, in which the crisis in Haiti will be raised by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dominican President Luis Abinader, “is looking at different issues and different ways to strengthen the security in Haiti and strengthen the government’s ability to better provide the safety and security of the people, as it is their responsibility.”

Asked whether that means a new international peacekeeping mission, Dujarric said, “obviously, that’s a decision for the Security Council.”