BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (13 July 2005) -- Tropical Storm Emily closed in on the Windward Islands of the eastern Caribbean on Wednesday, prompting storm warnings from Barbados to the Netherlands Antilles. But residents of the small and vulnerable islands got a break as Emily, the fifth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, failed to grow into a hurricane as predicted, remaining a tropical storm with 60 mph (97 kph) winds. At 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), the center of Emily was about 125 miles (200 km) south of Barbados and moving to the west at 18 mph (29 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The government of Barbados had told people to expect tropical storm conditions by Wednesday evening and residents put up storm shutters, filled gas tanks and loaded up on canned goods, batteries, candles, matches and lamps. But the storm passed well to the south. Residents of energy-rich Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia and Grenada, which was devastated by Hurricane Ivan last year, were told to expect heavy rain and high winds within 24 hours. Venezuela issued a tropical storm warning from Cumana to Caracas, and the Dutch islands Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao were on storm alert. On its current track, Emily was expected move quickly through the Caribbean Sea and pass south of Jamaica on Saturday. It would reach the coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula on Monday. Emily followed Hurricane Dennis, which killed at least 70 people as it ripped past Haiti and Jamaica, roared over Cuba and hit the U.S. Gulf coast near Pensacola, Florida, on Sunday. | | Tropical Storm Emily strike probability - Click graphic to enlarge. Authorities say the storm killed 44 people in Haiti, 16 in Cuba and one in Jamaica. U.S. officials say it was responsible for seven deaths in Florida, one in Mississippi and one in Georgia. In the Gulf of Mexico, engineers were scrambling to right the world's largest semi-submersible oil platform, the $1 billion Thunder Horse, which is tilting precariously following the passing of Dennis, before another storm arrives. Owner BP Plc said on Wednesday the platform was listing 20 degrees with its lower deck almost touching the water. Thunder Horse was planned to come on stream this year and pump 250,000 barrels of oil per day at peak, and large quantities of natural gas. |
