Caribbean Hurricanes: Tropical Storm Olga

December 14, 2007

25 Dead in Caribbean Tropical Storm Olga

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic (AP) � Dominican authorities reported 11 more deaths Thursday from Tropical Storm Olga, raising to 25 the death toll across the Caribbean from the second devastating storm to hit the island of Hispaniola in as many months. The vast majority were killed in the central Dominican province of Santiago after officials, fearing a collapse of a dam, ordered the release of billions of gallons of water into the Yaque River and inundated seven towns along the waterway's path. "We knew the damage we were going to cause below. We did not want to, but we had to," Octavio Rodriguez, a member of the committee that decided to open the floodgates, told The Associated Press. Furious residents said they were warned just minutes before waves as high as a two-story building came crashing down the river, sweeping away cars and sending plumes of mud careening into houses. "They warned us but there was no time ... everybody was sleeping," said 50-year-old Sonia Duran Maldonado, her voice shaking. "They must beg our forgiveness for what has happened." Officials explained Wednesday that as heavy rains overwhelmed the Tavera Dam near Santiago, the country's second-largest city, they decided to release water to prevent an outright collapse. By midnight Tuesday all the dam's doors were open and 1.6 million gallons were pouring through every second.

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December 13, 2007

TROPICAL DEPRESSION OLGA ADVISORY NUMBER 9

TROPICAL DEPRESSION OLGA ADVISORY NUMBER 9 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL172007 1000 PM EST WED DEC 12 2007

...OLGA DEGENERATING INTO A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WITH A FEW
SQUALLS...

AT 1000 PM EST...0300Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION OLGA WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 18.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 77.6 WEST OR ABOUT 80
MILES...130 KM...NORTHWEST OF KINGSTON JAMAICA AND ABOUT 235 MILES
...380 KM...EAST OF GRAND CAYMAN.

THE DEPRESSION HAS SLOWED DOWN AND IS NOW MOVING TOWARD THE WEST
NEAR 13 MPH...21 KM/HR. THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 30 MPH...45 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS CONFINED TO A FEW SQUALLS NORTH OF THE CENTER. THE DEPRESSION
IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A REMNANT LOW WITHIN THE NEXT 12 HOURS OR SO.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1008 MB...29.77 INCHES.

OLGA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1
TO 2 INCHES OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS...EASTERN CUBA...JAMAICA
AND HISPANIOLA. THESE RAINS COULD PRODUCE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH
FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES.

REPEATING THE 1000 PM EST POSITION...18.9 N...77.6 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...WEST NEAR 13 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1008 MB.

THIS IS THE LAST PUBLIC ADVISORY ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER ON THIS SYSTEM UNLESS REGENERATION OCCURS. ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION ON THIS SYSTEM CAN BE FOUND IN HIGH SEAS FORECASTS
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...UNDER AWIPS HEADER
NFDHSFAT1 AND WMO HEADER FZNT01 KWBC.

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Tropical Storm Olga Kills at Least 8 in Caribbean

From the VOA:

Tropical Storm Olga has claimed the lives of at least eight people as it lashed the Dominican Republic Wednesday.

The northern province of Santiago in the Caribbean nation was hardest hit, with heavy rains causing the Yaque River to overflow its banks. In addition to widespread flooding, the storm is being blamed for several landslides.

Olga had earlier passed through Puerto Rico, where it is being blamed for killing one man. It later skirted Haiti, which shares the island Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Haitian authorities have not reported any serious injuries.

Weather forecasters say the storm is likely to weaken as it passes out over open water.

Olga comes nearly two weeks after the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The season began June 1 and ended November 30.

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