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A NASA satellite image shows Hurricane Fred over the Cabo Verde Islands nation, off West Africa. Picture: AFP / NASA Source: AFP
HURRICANE Fred baring winds of up to 140kmh is the easternmost hurricane known to have formed in the Atlantic tropics, and the first known to actually pass over the West African archipelago of Cabo Verde.
The Republic of Cabo Verde, an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean, was lashed by powerful winds and heavy rain on Monday.
Named Fred, the storm packed winds of up to 140 kilometres per hour, according to Cabo Verde’s interior ministry and the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Winds uprooted trees on several islands, telecommunications and electricity were affected in some regions and the national airline cancelled flights. There were no reports of any casualties, according to emergency services on Cabo Verde reached from Bissau, the capital of Guinea Bissau.
The storm “made landfall at 8am (6pm Monday AEST) 35 kilometres south of Rabil,†a town on the northern island of Boa Vista, said Idilton Briton, a senior official at Cabo Verde’s civil defence.
Boa Vista and Sal, a neighbouring island, were the most affected of the country’s islands, he said.
In a statement released on Facebook, the interior ministry said a “state of maximum alert†had been declared.
“As of 3.45pm (9:45pm), (the storm) was located nearly 30km north-northeast of the island of Sao Nicolau,†it said.
“With maximum winds of 140kmh, (Fred) is moving in a north-westerly direction at a speed of 19 kmh, and should pass by slightly north of the islands of Sao Vicente and Santo Antao during the night.â€
The Miami-based NHC warned the hurricane could unleash a storm surge accompanied by large and dangerous waves near the coast.
Fred, a category one hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, also could dump up to 25 centimetres of rain on the islands, it said.
“According to the official Atlantic tropical cyclone record, which begins in 1851, Fred is the first hurricane to pass through the Cabo Verde Islands since 1892,†the NHC added.
Fred was downgraded to a tropical storm on Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 11o kmh and was forecast to weaken gradually as it moves further out to sea, the NHC said.
The Republic of Cabo Verde, a former Portuguese colony lying around 500km west of Senegal, comprises 10 volcanic islands, nine of which are inhabited.
Fred is the second hurricane of the Atlantic season.
Earlier this month, Hurricane Danny caused a tropical storm across a handful of popular Caribbean destinations but was downgraded to a tropical depression before it could do much damage.
Just days ago, tropical storm Erika left at least 20 people dead and dozens missing as it swept over the tiny Caribbean island nation of Dominica.
The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, sees peak activity in September.
But experts have said there was a 90-percent chance this year’s season would be less active than usual.