Tropical Storm Bret brings winds and rain to islands in eastern Caribbean

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Bret brought winds and heavy rain early Friday to islands in the eastern Caribbean that shut down to prepare for potential landslides and flooding.

The storm's center was west of St. Vincent and west-southwest of St. Lucia and moving west at 17 mph (28 kph). Its maximum sustained winds were 60 mph (95 kph).

Airports, businesses, schools and offices closed on St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Martinique and other islands by midday Thursday.

Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, had urged people to go to a government shelter if they believed their home might not withstand the strong winds and heavy rains.

“These storms can turn around fairly quickly,” he warned.

Forecasters had warned that the storm might pass directly over St. Lucia, which is north of St. Vincent, but its path shifted south.

“Protect your lives, property and livelihoods,” urged Prime Minister Philip Pierre on St. Lucia.

Residents across St. Lucia rushed to fill up their cars with gasoline and stock up on water and canned food.

“You always have to be ready,” Ben Marcellin, who manages a guesthouse, said in a phone interview. “You never know. It can become serious.”

Authorities in St. Lucia opened one shelter at the request of some residents who feared their homes would not withstand the storm.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Rainfall of 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) was forecast from the French island of Guadeloupe south to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including Barbados, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Dangerous surf was also a possibility, the center warned.

Bret was expected to lose strength after entering the eastern Caribbean Sea and was forecast to dissipate by Sunday.

The Caribbean was also closely watching Tropical Storm Cindy trailing Bret, though forecasts called for that storm to take a path northeast of the Caribbean over open waters. Cindy's maximum sustained winds were around 40 mph (65 kph) late on Thursday and forecasts call for some strengthening.

Never before have two storms formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, meteorologist Philip Klotzbach at Colorado State University said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast 12 to 17 named storms for this year’s hurricane season. It said between five and nine of those storms could become hurricanes, including up to four major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.