(Trinidad Guardian) State-owned Petrotrin stocked up on emergency supplies yesterday as the next Atlantic Tropical depression, expected to be named Matthew, churned towards the Windward Islands.
A source said Petrotrin officials were in the process of putting in place an emergency contingency plan in the event that the weather conditions took a turn for the worse.
Up to press time (6 pm) the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the tropical disturbance is located over 900 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands.
International weather reports said showers and gusty winds were expected in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and perhaps even coastal Venezuela later this week.
But while the State-owned company was putting things in place for the impending storm, chief meteorologist at the T&T Meteorological Service (Met Office) Shakeer Baig, and chief executive officer at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) Dr Stephen Ramroop said there is no storm heading for this country.
Gas stations did not have any unusual lines yesterday.
Baig said the Met Office was currently monitoring a tropical wave with an associated area of low pressure which was now located 1,800 kilometres east southeast of the Windward Islands.
And the area of bad weather, he said, was expected to be east of T&T.
The country was also expected to experience heavy showers by tomorrow (Wednesday).
“Whether it develops further or not by Wednesday morning throughout the day and probably into the night on Wednesday the entire southern Caribbean area will experience showers, some of which will be heavy and there will be an accompanying area of gusty winds.
“But at this time T&T is not under any tropical storm threat or warning,” Baig said.
Meanwhile, the ODPM is advising people to remain vigilant and practice the normal precautionary 72-hour protocol of preparation by keeping emergency kits and supplies readily available.
But it also maintained that the country was not under any storm threat or warning at this time.
