Martinique is on alert. The island was placed on cyclone orange alert on Wednesday afternoon by Météo-France as tropical storm Bret approached.
Around 5:30 p.m., the center of the tropical storm was 780 km east of Martinique and was moving at a maximum of 100 km / h with winds gusting to 120 km / h. “The passage window of the center of Bret is between Thursday at the end of the afternoon and the night from Thursday to Friday”, indicates Météo-France.
Cumulative rainfall that can “locally reach 200 mm”
The most likely area of passage of the center of the storm is between the south of Martinique and the island of Saint-Vincent, according to the institute. At the peak of the event, the average wind will blow between 60 and 70 km/h over the northern half of Martinique, and between 70 and 90 km/h on average over the southern half. Gusts can reach 100 to 120 km / h and locally 150 km / h in the most exposed areas.
The state of the sea will begin to deteriorate at the end of the night from Wednesday to Thursday, forecasts Météo-France. The average troughs could reach 3 to 4 meters, locally 5 meters on the Atlantic seaboard and in the Dominica channel, and up to about 6 meters in the Saint Lucia channel. Cumulative rainfall may “locally reach 200 mm”.
The prefecture of Martinique has asked the population to prepare for the passage of the phenomenon and Météo-France advises inhabitants to prepare their homes and organize the “storage of food and (of) various equipment”. The Rectorate of Martinique for its part ordered the closure of schools for the day of this Thursday as well as the postponement of exams. Inter-island and coastal maritime transport is also suspended from Wednesday evening.