Wednesday, November 16, 2005

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) -- A tropical storm warning was issued for the Cayman Islands on Saturday and residents, many of whom had not removed the hurricane shutters from earlier storms this season, began preparing for the worst.The system could become Tropical Storm Wilma on Sunday, which would make it the 21st named storm of the season, tying the record for the most storms in an Atlantic season, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.The only other time that many storms have formed since record keeping began 154 years ago was in 1933.At 5 p.m. EDT, the tropical depression was 195 miles southeast of Grand Cayman and 85 miles southwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, forecasters said. It was churning west at 3 mph with sustained winds near 30 mph. Depressions become tropical storms when their winds reach 39 mph.Cayman Island residents, such as 51-year-old Susan Craig, say they are ready."I still have all the supplies from the previous storms this season, basically a lot peanut M&M's, so I am ready just in case," she said.The chairman of the Cayman Islands' National Hurricane Center, Donovan Ebanks, said authorities had been monitoring the weather for several days."Because of where it is, and the fact that it is projected to become a tropical storm by tomorrow and possibly a hurricane in a couple of days, we've decided to go ahead and issue a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch," he said.In Jamaica, officials issued a flash flood warning for northwestern parts of the island.Jamaica's office of the disaster preparedness said several businesses had been flooded in Montego Bay and in St. James parish, several people were flooded out of their homes.Hurricane season ends November 30.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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