Preparations and Impact
Before Tropical Storm Danielle moved through the Lesser Antilles, a small-craft advisory was issued, and later, gale warnings were posted for Barbados as well as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. On Saint Vincent, the threat of the storm forced the closure of the main commercial airport, as well as schools, businesses, and stores. Further west, Danielle briefly posed a threat to Jamaica, prompting officials in that country to issue a tropical storm watch. Two months earlier, the precursor to Tropical Storm Andrew killed 49 people on the island; to avoid a recurrence, the Jamaican government worked to evacuate fishermen from two small islands as a precaution.
As Danielle moved through the Lesser Antilles, a rainband struck the island of Saint Vincent with wind gusts of near hurricane-force. The winds caused a major power outage on the island, and destroyed the roofs of more than 30 houses. Elsewhere in the country, the combination of winds and heavy rains caused heavy crop damage. Twelve days after Danielle struck, a severe rainstorm affected Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The combined disasters produced a damage total of $9.3 million (1986 USD, $18 million 2010 USD), the majority of it from crop damage. About 40% of the banana crop was destroyed or unfit for cultivation, and 2,050 acres (8.3 km2) of other crops were seriously affected. The two storms caused the deaths of 120 animals, although there were no human fatalities. In addition to the crop damage, the combined impact of the two storms left over 100 houses destroyed, with a total of 436 dwellings damaged; this forced 142 people to seek emergency shelter. Across the country, the heavy rainfall caused mudslides and flooding which disrupted the transportation and utility network.
During its passage, Danielle produced a 40 mph (64 km/h) wind gust at the airport in Bridgetown, Barbados. A coast guard ship from Barbados ran aground into a reef in the southern Grenadines, but it was rescued. Further south, rainbands from Danielle swept through Trinidad and Tobago, producing up to 4 feet (1.2 m) of flooding. The flooding caused 27 landslides and destroyed 4 bridges. Damage in the country was estimated at $8 million (1986 TTD, $1.2 million 1986 USD).
Read more about this topic: Tropical Storm Danielle (1986)
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