| “EXERCISE OVERLOAD” Melbourne, Australia |
| HURRICANE MARIA HEADED FOR VIRGIN ISLANDS & PUERTO RICO Caribbean Sea |
| “Exercise Overload” |
| Tuesday, September 19, 2017, Melbourne, Australia |
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Port Users are advised that the whole of port all hazards field exercise “Exercise Overload” will be conducted from 0830 until 1600 on 20 September 2017 between Beacon 43 (Pier 35 Marina) and Beacon 49 (South Wharf 33). The exercise will involve an on water deployment of oil spill response equipment and Water Police and Metropolitan Fire Brigade vessels. All exercise related VHF communications will be conducted on VHF Channel 68 and will be prefixed by the words “For Exercise”. Mariners are requested to not transmit on VHF Channel 68 for the duration of the exercise For more details please contact Melbourne VTS on 96449700 or on VHF Channel 12. (For information about operations at Australian ports contact GAC Australia at shipping.australia@gac.com) Source: Victorian Ports Melbourne Notice to mariners No.235(T)-2017 dated 19 September 2017 |
| Hurricane Maria headed for Virgin Islands & Puerto Rico |
| Tuesday, September 19, 2017, Caribbean Sea |
| At 500am AST (0900 UTC), the center of Hurricane Maria was near latitude 16.0 North, longitude 62.3 West… …moving toward the west-northwest near 9mph (15 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue through Wednesday.
On the forecast track, the eye of Maria will move over the northeastern Caribbean Sea today, and approach the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico tonight and Wednesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 155 mph (250 km/h) with higher gusts. Maria is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Maria is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous category 4 or 5 hurricane while it approaches the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles (205km). Hurricane conditions will continue to spread throughout portions of the hurricane warning area in the Leeward Islands this morning. Hurricane conditions should spread through the remainder of the Hurricane Warning area later today and Wednesday. Hurricane conditions are possible within the Hurricane Watch area in the Dominican Republic late Wednesday, with tropical storm conditions possible by early Wednesday. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the Tropical Storm Watch area in St. Vincent and the Grenadines this morning, and are possible in the Tropical Storm Watch area in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday… …A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 7-11 feet above normal tide levels in the hurricane warning area near where the center of Maria moves across the Leeward Islands and the British Virgin Islands. The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline… …The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the north and east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances… (For information about operations in the Americas, contact the GAC Houston Hub Agency Center at hub.us@gac.com) Source: Extracts from National Hurricane Center, Miami Fl, Hurricane Maria Advisory No.13 issued at 500am AST Tue Sep 19 2017 |
