Caribbean | Common News Update

Jul62018 by adminNo Comments

Caribbean islands issue watches for Hurricane Beryl

July 6 (UPI) -- A number of Caribbean islands issued tropical storm and hurricane watches Friday afternoon ahead of Category 1 Hurricane Beryl, which the National Hurricane Center described as a "miniature" and unpredictable. The center of the storm was located 965 miles east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles and was moving west near 15 mph, the NHC said in its 5 p.m. EDT update. The storm had sustained winds of 80 mph, and hurricane-force winds extend 10 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds 35 miles from the center. Dominica issued a hurricane watch, while a tropical storm watch was in effect for the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy. Forecasters said they expect the storm to pick up speed over the weekend and approach the Lesser Antilles be...

Mar142018 by adminNo Comments

Caribbean ships warned away from underwater volcano

World

March 14 (UPI) -- Ships sailing in the Caribbean have been told to steer clear of an underwater volcano that is showing increased seismic activity.The government of Grenada imposed 3.1 miles exclusion zone around the volcano -- called Kick 'em Jenny -- after the alert was raised to orange, indicating an eruption could take place within 24 hours.The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center issued the warning, saying with the increased alert level ships should steer clear of the exclusion zone, 5 miles off Grenada.Prof. Richard Robertson of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre said an eruption of the volcano will not likely trigger a tsunami.Robertson said even though an eruption would likely not produce enough material to dislodge large amounts of water, he warned marine ope...

Feb132018 by adminNo Comments

Firms on Caribbean island chain own 23,000 UK properties

Business

A quarter of property in England and Wales owned by overseas firms is held by entities registered in the British Virgin Islands, BBC analysis has found.The Caribbean archipelago is the official home of companies that own 23,000 properties - more than any other country.They are owned by 11,700 firms registered in the overseas territory.The finding emerged from BBC analysis conducted of Land Registry data on overseas property ownership.The research found there are around 97,000 properties in England and Wales held by overseas firms, as of January 2018. It adds to concerns that companies registered in British-controlled tax havens have been used to avoid tax. Sorry, your browser cannot display this map Map built by Carto. If you can't see the map, please click here to op...

Sep192017 by adminNo Comments

NHC: Maria 'potentially catastrophic' as it tears through Caribbean

World

Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Hurricane Maria left widespread damage Tuesday in the eastern Caribbean as it continued steaming toward the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as a Category 5 storm.In its 5 p.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm was 80 miles southeast of St. Croix and 175 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, both U.S. territories. Maximum sustained winds were recorded at 165 mph, with higher gusts.Maria was moving west-northwest at a speed of 10 mph -- a direction which was expected to continue through Wednesday.The NHC called the storm "potentially catastrophic" -- barely a week after Hurricane Irma tore through the same region."On the forecast track, the eye of Maria will move near or over the U.S. Virgin Islands [Tuesday night], cross Puerto Ri...

Sep92017 by adminNo Comments

'Dangerous' Hurricane Jose about to turn north in Caribbean

World

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Like Irma in front of it, Hurricane Jose will begin its turn to the north Saturday evening, forecasters said.In its 5 p.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm was located about 85 miles northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands -- the easternmost in the chain of Caribbean Sea islands -- with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. It's moving northwest at a speed of 14 mph.Forecasters said Jose had slightly weakened overnight, but said it remains a "dangerous" Category 4 hurricane. It is the 10th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, and its third major hurricane -- which are classified Category 3 or higher."On the forecast track, the core of Jose will continue to pass north of the northern Leeward Islands through this evening.," the ad...