St. John Government Offices, Schools Reopening Delayed Due to Port Closure
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS––Governor Albert Bryan Jr., along with VITEMA Director Daryl Jaschen, on Tuesday, provided the media with updates on the track of Tropical Storm Karen and plans to reopen the government offices and schools on Wednesday.
According to Director Jaschen, at 5 p.m., Tropical Storm Karen was located 70 miles west-northwest of St. Croix, moving to the north at 8 miles per hour. Top winds were at 45 miles per hour with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 80 miles mainly to the southeast of the center.
Tropical-storm-force winds are forecasted to affect the territory through midnight tonight, with some areas experiencing gusts of up to 40 miles per hour. Tropical Storm Karen is expected to produce rainfall amounts of between 3 and 6 inches, with the possibility of 10 inches in isolated areas.
The US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands remain under a Tropical Storm Warning.
A curfew has not been imposed, however, Governor Bryan continues to caution residents against traversing the roadways unless for an emergency.
Government Offices, Schools
Based on the projected path and anticipated impact of the Tropical Storm Karen, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has announced the reopening of all government offices on St. Thomas and St. Croix only, on their normal operating schedule, on Wednesday. Additionally, Governor Bryan also directed that all public schools on St. Croix and St. Thomas will open tomorrow on their regular schedule.
On St. John, the reopening of government offices and public schools will be delayed due to the closure of seaports. On Tuesday, the US Coast Guard has informed Director Jaschen that it will take several hours to assess and clear seaports for operations. The US Coast Guard will begin its assessment at daybreak on Wednesday, however, that report will likely not be completed until noon.
All government employees on the island of St. John will be granted Administrative Leave and students who ferry to St. Thomas for school will be given an excused absence.
Any changes to the announcements will be made during Governor Bryan’s 6:30 a.m. media briefing.
Airports
Airport terminals at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix and the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas closed as of 4 pm today. Major airline flights scheduled to arrive and depart the territory did so without incident, including for American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Jet Blue. Jet Blue, however, canceled its 6 p.m. flight from St. Thomas to San Juan due to high winds.
The Department of Tourism staffers, who were on-hand at the King Airport, were to able to find accommodations for approximately 20 passengers whose final destination was either the St. John or the British Virgin Islands.
All seaports remain closed until further notice.
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