Travelore News: Jamaica Activates Tourism Emergency Operation Centers Due To Approaching Hurricane Matthew

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Tourism Emergency Operations Centres (TEOC), located at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston and Altamont West in Montego Bay, will be the focal points of the tourism sector’s coordination of disaster response and recovery activities should Hurricane Matthew impact the island.

As Jamaica braces for the possible onslaught of Hurricane Matthew – now a Category 3 system – preparations are in high gear at the Ministry of Tourism to activate its two operations centers, which will coordinate emergency services for the local tourism sector.

In addition to being the official sources of information for the tourism sector, the Centers will disseminate warnings and bulletins received from the National Emergency Operations Center; analyze and evaluate all data pertaining to emergency operations within the tourism sector as well as update local and international media.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, gave the assurance that the Ministry and its agencies have taken all necessary precautions and are well prepared for the eventuality of a hurricane. “The TEOCs will provide important and timely information to stakeholders in the sector. I encourage all our tourism partners and Jamaicans in general to heed the hurricane warnings issued by the relevant authorities and take all the necessary precautions to keep safe during the possible passage of Hurricane Matthew,” said Minister Bartlett.

Travelore Weather Alert: 230 Flights Canceled At Denver International Airport

230 flights canceled, hundreds delayed by 1 hour, 45 minutes

By Kirk Mitchell and Jesse Paul
The Denver Post

Denver International Airport has canceled 230 flights and hundreds of other flights have been delayed by nearly two hours, officials say.

The snowstorm has dropped 5 inches of new snow at DIA and another 3 to 5 inches of snow are expected until the end of the storm at about 1 p.m., according to an 8 a.m. news release by DIA spokeswoman Mindy Crane.

Gusting winds and reduced visibility are adding to the delays. The average delay is about 1 hour and 45 minutes per flight, Crane said. Nearly one out of every six flights or 15 percent have been canceled, she said.

Patrick McNamee is heading to Chicago on a business trip, but so far has been facing mounting delays as he and other passengers wait in a plane stuck on the airport's tarmac.

"We got away from the gate and pulled up to the de-ice pad and we've been sitting here for over an hour," McNamee said in a phone interview from his seat aboard an American Airlines flight.

McNamee said he's been told the runway has to be periodically cleared, which is holding back takeoffs.

"The delays are just building and building and building," he said.

Despite the heavy snow, most flights at DIA have not been canceled, Crane pointed out.

"We're keeping aircraft moving," he said.

Pena Boulevard was briefly closed in both directions at about 5:20 a.m. because of a traffic accident, said Heath Montgomery, DIA spokesman.

That accident was cleared but caused additional backups as snow plows cleared the roads. Motorists should expect winter conditions and plan for extra travel time out to the airport.

"People should definitely check their flights. That's extremely important," Crane said.

Passengers can check their flight status with their airline or atwww.FlyDenver.com.

Snow-removal crews were deployed overnight and remain active for the duration of the snow, Crane said.

Passengers can check their flight status with their airline or atwww.FlyDenver.com.

Snow-removal crews were deployed overnight and remain active for the duration of the snow, Crane said.

DIA has more than 250 pieces of airside snow removal equipment, 110 pieces of equipment for landside parking lots and roadways, and more than 500 trained snow-removal personnel.

The equipment being deployed for this storm includes blowers, brooms, blades, plows, runway sanders, 4,000 gallon chemical trucks, loaders with box plows and snow melters, the news release says.

The airlines are expected to be in full de-icing operations, so passengers should expect to spend a little extra time on the aircraft prior to departure. The average de-icing time is approximately 16 minutes, but can vary based on the type of aircraft.

Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, kmitchell@denverpost.com or @kirkmitchell or denverpost.com/coldcases

Travelore News: Hurricane Patricia Grounds California Flights To And From Mexican Resort City

Hurricane Patricia approaches the Mexican coast in an image released on Friday by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Joseph SernaContact Reporter

Flights between California and a major Mexican tourist destination were canceled Friday as a monster hurricane crawled north through Central America.

A dozen flights between Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County and San Diego were canceled Friday due to Hurricane Patricia, a Category 5 storm that forecasters say is the strongest ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere.

Four of the flights were to or from Los Angeles, four were connected to Orange County, and the remaining four were to or from San Francisco or San Diego, according toFlightaware.com

A total of 31 flights connected to Puerto Vallarta, in the state of Jalisco, were canceled. There was no indication if flights would be canceled over the weekend as well. By then, the storm could be on the Texas coast.

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Patricia gained unprecedented strength overnight as it headed toward Puerto Vallarta, where its forecast to make land fall by Friday evening.

Mexico braces for Patricia, the Western hemisphere's strongest hurricane ever

The storm’s sustaining winds are blasting at about 200 mph with gusts at nearly 250 mph, the National Weather Service said. In Mexico, a state of emergency was declared for several states, including Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit, theAssociated Press reported.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.