HURRICANE SITREP 01, 7/15/05, 1500 HRS - JAMAICA

UNCLAS KINGSTON 001745 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT),WHA/EX (BUDDEN), CA/OCS/ACS/WHA (BRANSON) DEPARTMENT PLS ALSO PASS PEACE CORPS SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD AND J7 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: JM CASC ASEC AEMR AMGT SUBJECT: HURRICANE SITREP 01, 7/15/05, 1500 HRS - JAMAICA PREPARES FOR EMILY REF: A. STATE 131446 ¶B. VALDEZ-BENT EMAIL 07/15/05 ¶1. Post's Emergency Action Committee (EAC) met in Kingston at 10:00 a.m. local on July 14 to finalize preparations for the approaching Hurricane Emily. The EAC discussed authorized departure, granted by the Department per Ref A. Although authorized departure has been approved, however, few Embassy families have been able to depart because all flights from Norman Manley Airport in Kingston are fully booked. RSO reports that Canadian High Commission canceled its chartered evacuation flight on July 15. ¶2. Post ceased regular operations July 15 at 2:00 p.m. to allow staff to make preparations for the storm. The USAID building will be opened as a hurricane shelther for American staff members and their families. Those who choose to stay in the shelter have been asked to check in before 10:00 p.m. on 15 July. ¶3. To ensure coordination and communication, a core EAC team will staff a command center based at the USAID building throughout the hurricane. Post's command center contact number is 876-929-5374. Post One can be reached at 876-935-6055. In the event that telephone lines fail, key staff may be reachable by cellular telephone. Post has emailed a contact list to the Desk (Ref B). ¶4. As of 1:00 p.m. local time on July 15, Hurricane Emily was located southeast of Jamaica and moving at 20 mph on a course to pass south of the island on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center (NHC). The NHC described Emily as Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, with sustained winds near 115 miles per hour. Post expects the effects of the hurricane to be felt in Jamaica beginning Friday night, continuing at least throughout the day on the 16th. TIGHE