public notice: meeting of the national disaster operation group

Re: Flood Forecast Invest98L

On Thursday, November 16, 2023, a meeting of the National Operations Subcommittee was convened at the Office of the Governor and Deputy Governor, Providenciales.  The meeting commenced at 10 a.m. with the main purpose of developing a plan of action to ensure the islands’ state of readiness in response to the potential effects of forecasted flooding over the period November 17-19, 2023.

Among the attendees were Acting Governor H.E. Anya Williams; Acting Premier, Hon. E. J. Saunders; Hon., Jamell Robinson, Minister of Physical Planning, and Infrastructure Development (PPID) and Minister with responsibility for Disaster Management; Dr. Holly Hamilton, Director of the TCI National Weather Service; Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries, Director of the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies and other Government Officials.

Key Messages:

• Invest 98L has medium chance of development into a tropical cyclone.
• Regardless of development, the system is expected to bring periods of heavy rains, breezy conditions with higher gusts and rough seas.
• Weather conditions is expected to begin to deteriorate on Friday, November 17, the worst is expected on Saturday, November 18 as the system passes over the area and weather conditions begin to improve on Sunday, November 19
• Flooding is likely in low-lying and flood prone areas.
• Marine conditions will not be suitable for beachgoers and small crafts over the weekend.
• The Public Works Department has commenced work on clearing drains and drilling new wells in several key locations.
• Pumping equipment has been dispersed throughout the islands to be utilized as necessary.

The public is advised to stay away from flooded areas and do not walk, swim or drive through flooded waters.

The public should also continue to closely monitor alerts issued by DDME on social media platforms, Facebook, @DDME.TCI, WWW.GOV.TC/DDME, Radio Turks and Caicos and the DDME Alert App.