The Caribbean island of Barbados is preparing to be hit by Tropical Storm Emily as residents stocked supplies and the government opened emergency shelters and closed businesses today. The fifth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season moved toward the eastern Caribbean islands, prompting storm warnings from Venezuela on the south to the French island of Martinique on the north. Emily had 97 kilometer per hour (kph) sustained winds and could grow to hurricane strength, with 119 kph winds, by the time it passes the islands, said forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Near midday, the center of Emily was about 265 kilometers southeast of Barbados and moving to the west at 32 kph, the center said. Barbados is expected to feel tropical-storm conditions by tonight. Residents of Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Grenada were told to expect hurricane conditions within 24 hours. On its current track, Emily is expected to clear the eastern Caribbean islands on Thursday, move quickly through the Caribbean Sea, and pass south of Jamaica on Saturday. It would reach the coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula on Monday. The storm followed Hurricane Dennis, which killed at least 70 people as it moved past Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba, and hit the U.S. gulf coast on Sunday. Authorities say Dennis killed 44 in Haiti, 16 in Cuba, and one in Jamaica. U.S. officials say the storm was responsible for 9 deaths along the U.S. gulf coast.
