Hurricane Dean Gains Strength and Turns Deadly

 

Hurricane Dean is a massive storm system - Last night the hurricane covered an area from Puerto Rico to Venezuela - which is approximately 600 miles.

So there is virtually no island that will be spared from high winds, surf and lots of rainfall.

Dean has already claimed at least three lives - 2 on the island of Dominica and 1 in Martinique.    

In times like these, all of the Caribbean islanders unite as one. Today while there are many who are grateful that this storm has passed, their thoughts and prayers are with their neighbors who are still awaiting the arrival of hurricane Dean.  

While the island of Barbados once again survived a direct hit, but their neighbors weren't so lucky.

St Lucia reports that this is one of the worst storms in recent history. The huge boulders that provided a protective barrier against the sea were moved by the powerful waves, and are now in the capital city of Castries, along with other debris and boats. Rodney Bay, one of the most popular tourists areas has also experienced heavy storm damage.

The tiny island of Dominica, along with the French island of Martinique both were battered by 130 + mile per hour winds that left extreme flooding, damage to residential and commercial buildings, and extensive crop damage.

Dean is now picking up strength and headed to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Cayman Islands. The island of Hispaniola, home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti are expected to receive as much as five inches of rain, and this will produce devastating floods and mudslides.

Jamaica has been forecasted, and now still appears to be in line for a direct hit on Sunday. This is extremely bad news for one of the largest and most populated islands in the region.   

On Monday, as Dean gains even more strength and moves into the Gulf of Mexico, it has to hit land somewhere. The temperature in the Gulf is now between 86 - 87 degrees, which will only add steam to this already dangerous storm. The Yucatan Peninsula, home to Cancun and Cozumel are on hurricane warning alerts.

It's too early to forecast where it might hit in the U.S., but most are forecasting Texas. Texans are already battling rain and flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin. At least six people died this week because of Erin's thunderstorms, and one person remained missing.