Barbados was placed under a hurricane warning as of 8 am yesterday, after Hurricane Ivan began taking a westerly path to the Windward Islands.
The hurricane, whose strength has been upgraded to status four category, is expected to hit the island within 24 hours.Even while Hurricane Frances? strength was abating after wreaking a path of destruction across Florida over the weekend, Ivan began to intensify with increased speed of 35 kilometres per hour and maximum sustained winds at 205 kilometres per hour.
St Vincent and the Grenadines, because of its location and close proximity to Barbados, has also been placed under hurricane warning.
T&T, Grenada and its dependencies have been put under tropical storm warning.
Chief meteorologist Emmanuel Moolchan said yesterday that Ivan was ?pulsing,? which meant it was moving in an uneven pattern at 208? north of west.
He said tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 220 kilometres per hour and would strengthen within the next day or two, in which case T&T could be affected.
President and CEO of McEnearny Alstons Barbados Ltd Stephen Edgehill said most businesses were closed at midday yesterday, and the reopening of the new school term was delayed because of the impending hurricane.
However, owners of hardwares and supermarkets were asked to remain open to facilitate residents who had to work until midday.
?Shopping yesterday was as good as Christmas time,? Edgehill said in a telephone interview yesterday.
He said Barbados was in a bullseye position, that is, the eye of the hurricane would pass over the island, and residents were preparing for the worse.
The last hurricane to hit Barbados was Hurricane Janet in 1955.
?All systems have been shut down and we are as ready as we?ll ever be,? Edgehill said.
However, he said because most of the houses in Barbados were wooden, if the island was to take a direct hit, ?the results would be disastrous.?
?If Ivan swung north, we would be very lucky,? he said, adding that weather was still sunny with mild winds yesterday, but was ?just the calm before the storm.?
Reporter with the Caribbean Media Corporation, Kaymar Jordan, said Barbados? meteorological office had described Ivan as ?dangerous.?
She said while Barbados was not usually threatened by hurricanes because of its location, the met office said Ivan was a ?rare system.?
Jordan said Barbadians were heeding warnings not to be complacent about Ivan and were not treating it lightly.
She said there were long lines at supermarkets extending out onto sidewalks and carparks, as residents began to stock up on dry goods, candles, lanterns and batteries, which she said were sold out at some stores.
Government emergency officials held meetings most of the day yesterday in preparedness for the impending disaster.
Jordan said schools would used as shelters, should they be needed.
