Caribbean – Tropical Cyclone MATTHEW

• TC MATTHEW is moving over the Caribbean Sea, strengthening.

• Over the next 24 h, it is forecast to move west, strengthening into a Major Hurricane. Then it is forecast to turn northwest, and start moving towards Jamaica, however the uncertainty of the forecast track/intensity is still VERY high. On 1-5 October heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge could affect Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas.

Message: Tropical Storm Matthew impacted CDEMA Participating States - Barbados, Dominica, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The ‘All Clear’ was issued for impacted States and Initial Damage Assessments and Needs Analysis (DANA) teams were deployed. No immediate needs have been identified by the impacted States at the time of this report. Given the projected path of TS Mathew there are now concerns for possible threats to Jamaica, Haiti, Turks and Caicos Islands and Bahamas.

Situation

Situación

Según la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de los Estados Unidos (NOAA) del Centro Nacional de huracanes, Mathew se ha fortalecido en un huracán de categoría 2.

Miami, United States | AFP | Saturday 10/1/2016 - 02:47 GMT

Hurricane Matthew rapidly gained power Friday, escalating to a powerful Category 4 storm as it moved over the open Caribbean sea just south of Jamaica, US forecasters said.

Packing wind speeds of 150 miles (240 kilometers) per hour, the National Hurricane Center called Matthew "extremely dangerous."

The agency said fluctuations in intensity could occur but "Matthew is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through Sunday."

Situation

• Tropical Cyclone MATTHEW formed close to the island of Barbados on 28 September and started moving west. It passed through the Windward Island (southern Lesser Antilles) on 28 September evening as a Tropical Storm, then it started moving over the eastern Caribbean Sea.

Situación
El 29 de septiembre, el Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC por sus siglas en inglés) ascendió Matthew a categoría de huracán. Los vientos máximos sostenidos han aumentado a cerca de 75 mph (110 km/h) - un huracán de categoría 1 en la escala de huracanes de Saffir-Simpson. Se espera un fortalecimiento gradual durante las próximas 48 horas.

Situation

On 29 September, National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded Matthew to a hurricane. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 75 mph (110 km/h) –a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Gradual strengthening is expected during the next 48 hours.

KEY UPDATES

• Countries and territories reporting mosquito-borne Zika virus infections for the first time in the past week:

• None - Mosquito-borne Zika infections acquired by travelers returning from the Maldives were reported by Germany and Spain in the past week. Prior Zika cases were reported in January 2016.

THE SITUATION:

Caribbean - Tropical Cyclone MATTHEW (GDACS, NOAA, ECHO, CDEMA, Local media)

• On Wednesday September 28 2016, the tropical disturbance was upgraded to a Tropical Storm, which could turn into a Tropical Cyclone by Friday. Several Eastern Caribbean islands have been affected. A Tropical Storm Warning is currently in effect for Guadeloupe and Martinique, St. Lucia, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba.

Miami, United States | AFP | Wednesday 9/28/2016 - 17:14 GMT

Tropical Storm Matthew formed in the Atlantic over the Lesser Antilles on Wednesday and threatened to become a hurricane by Friday, US forecasters said.

Tropical storm warnings were issued for Guadeloupe and Martinique, as well as Barbados, Dominica, St Vincent, Grenada and St Lucia.

This bulletin is being issued for information only and reflects the current situation and details available at this time.

The situation

Zika virus – Incidence and trends

To date, 47 countries and territories in the Americas have confirmed autochthonous, vectorborne transmission of Zika virus disease since 2015. In addition, five countries in the Americas have reported sexually transmitted Zika cases. Since the last Zika Epidemiological Update of 8 September 2016, Saint Kitts and Nevis has confirmed vector-borne autochthonous transmission of Zika virus.

Highlighted below is a summary of the Zika epidemiological situation by sub-regions of the Americas.

KEY UPDATES

 Countries and territories reporting mosquito-borne Zika virus infections for the first time in the past week:
o Saint Kitts and Nevis

KEY UPDATES

 Countries and territories reporting mosquito-borne Zika virus infections for the first time in the past week:

o None

 Countries in the Western Pacific Region have been reporting new cases as seen in Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia.

 Countries and territories reporting microcephaly and other central nervous system (CNS) malformations potentially associated with Zika virus infection for the first time in the past week:

o None

Latin America and the Caribbean is a diverse region and does not follow a single pattern of development. This Report is separated into two volumes which share the same narrative: the Regional Human Development Report – the first volume – covers the entire region, while deepening the analysis on Latin America; and this current Caribbean Human Development Report – the second volume – approaches the multidimensional challenges of sustainable development and human progress taking into consideration the particularities of the Caribbean.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is among nine countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Suriname, to benefit from US$33,000,000., which will go toward the financing of sustainable infrastructure projects in the Caribbean.

The funds are being provided by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), under a Credit Facility Agreement with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB.

Zika virus – Incidence and trends

To date, 46 countries and territories have confirmed autochthonous, vector-borne transmission of Zika virus disease in the Region of the Americas since 2015. In addition, five countries in the Americas have reported sexually transmitted Zika cases.2 Since the last Zika Epidemiological Update of 25 August 2016, the British Virgin Islands have confirmed vectorborne autochthonous transmission of Zika virus (Figure 1).

North America