The third tropical storm system of the Atlantic hurricane season – Tropical Storm (TS) Chantal – is currently east of the Eastern Caribbean island chain.
TS Chantal is forecasted to pass through the island chain in the vicinity of the islands of St. Lucia, Martinique and Dominica during the course of Tuesday.
Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake met with the management team of Ministry of VROMI on Monday morning to be briefed with respect to the nation’s preparedness in the event of inclement weather.
TS Chantal does not pose a threat to Country Sint Maarten. The storm is forecasted to pass well south of the country, but the Office of Disaster Management continues to closely monitor the storm system for any possible changes in its forecasted track.
Minister Lake took a proactive approach on Monday after learning about the TS Chantal. "I was pleased to learn when we went through the checklist with respect to storm pumps and trench cleaning, we are on track and would be able to act very quickly should the need arise.
"I would like to also use this opportunity to call on the Sint Maarten community to make sure they have completed their hurricane season checklist and don’t wait until the last minute because then it will be too late. Make sure you are prepared for this hurricane season," Minister Hon. Maurice Lake said on Monday.
Ministry of VROMI is an integral part of the country’s disaster management system as Emergency Support Function (ESF-3).