Overall Green alert Tropical Cyclone for KAREN-19
in Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S., Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

Event summary

Tropical Cyclone KAREN-19 can have a low humanitarian impact based on the maximum sustained wind speed, exposed population and vulnerability.

GDACS ID TC 1000606
Name KAREN-19
From - To 22 Sep - 27 Sep
Exposed countries Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S., Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela
Exposed population No people in Category 1 or higher
Maximum wind speed 111 km/h Tropical storm
Maximum storm surge 0.4 m (24 Sep 20:00 UTC)
Vulnerability Medium (British Virgin Is.)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
Wind Storm surge Rainfall GDACS score
GDACS NOAA 56 km/h 0.4 m n.a. 0.5
Single TC: maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge, rainfall)
HWRF 90 km/h 0.8 m 285 mm 0.5
GFS 79 km/h 0.6 m 123 mm 0.5
ECMWF 61 km/h 0.5 m 170 mm 0.5
Maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge and rainfall) using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
The Caribbean - Tropical Cyclone KAREN (ECHO 23 Sep 2019)Mon, 23 Sep 2019 13:08

  • A new Tropical Cyclone named KAREN formed over the Atlantic Ocean south of Barbados and east of Windward Islands (Lesser Antilles) and started moving north-west on 22 September. On 23 September at 3.00 UTC, its centre was located over the Caribbean Sea approximately 245 km west of St. Vincent and the Grandines and approximately 610 km south-east of Puerto Rico (USA), with maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h (Tropical Storm).
  • On the forecast track, KAREN is forecast to continue moving north-west over the sea and it is expected to approach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on 24 September afternoon (UTC) as a Tropical Storm.
  • Heavy rainfall is forecast over Windward Islands and the Barbados on 23 September, while over Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on 23-25 September.
  • NOAA has issued a tropical storm watch for U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands - Tropical Cyclone KAREN update (ECHO 24 Sep 2019)Tue, 24 Sep 2019 13:09

  • Tropical Cyclone KAREN continued north-west over the Caribbean Sea. On 24 September at 3.00 UTC, its centre was approximately 210 km south of Puerto Rico (USA) and 200 km south-west of Saint Croix Island (the southernmost of U.S. Virgin Islands), with maximum sustained winds of 56 km/h (tropical depression).
  • Media report families displaced in nine shelters in Trinidad and Tobago, one house destroyed, all schools closed, several roads blocked and power outages. Schools and government offices were also closed in Puerto Rico.
  • KAREN is forecast to pass over eastern Puerto Rico on the afternoon of 24 September UTC, with maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h (tropical storm) before moving north over the Atlantic Ocean over 25-26 September.
  • Heavy rain and strong winds are forecast over Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Leeward Islands over 24-25 September.  A tropical storm warning is in effect for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
  • An earthquake of 6.0 M at a depth of 10 km occurred 63 km north-west off the coast of Puerto Rico on 24 September at 3.23 UTC, however no casualties or damage have been reported.
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands - Tropical Cyclone KAREN update (ECHO 25 Sep 2019)Wed, 25 Sep 2019 13:05

  • Tropical Cyclone KAREN passed over eastern Puerto Rico and Vieques Island on 24 September, with maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h (tropical storm). On 25 September at 3.00 UTC, its centre was approximately 80 km north of St. Thomas Island (U.S. Virgin Islands), with maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h.
  • Media report 29,000 customers without power across eastern Puerto Rico.
  • KAREN is forecast to continue north over the western Atlantic Ocean on 25-26 September as a tropical storm.
  • Heavy rain and strong winds are forecast over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on 25 September.
  • A tropical storm warning is in effect for the US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico - Tropical Cyclone KAREN update (ECHO 26 Sep 2019)Thu, 26 Sep 2019 13:09

  • Landslides and floods have been affecting parts of Puerto Rico since Tropical Cyclone Karen's passage.
  • 217 people have been displaced in 47 evacuation shelters, there have been power outages and water shortages while landslides resulted in the closure of roads in mountainous municipalities. In the Aguadilla region, the flooding from the river Culebrinas' overflow has isolated several villages.
  • More heavy rain and strong winds are forecast over central and southern areas of Puerto Rico on 26 September.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Articles: 725 | About casualties: 2 | Last hour: 0

Hurricane Lorenzo so big it's sending dangerous waves to FloridaTue, 01 Oct 2019 13:12:00 +0200.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Lorenzo is more than 2,500 miles away from Florida's East Coast, but the massive hurricane is still sending dangerous waves all the way across the Atlantic. "A high risk of dangerous and life-threatening rip curren
...(more)
World: Latin America & the Caribbean: Weekly Situation Update (23-30 S ... Mon, 30 Sep 2019 22:51:00 +0200.

Key points: Four weeks after Dorian slammed northwestern Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane, the Government of The Bahamas is shifting efforts from response to recovery. Tropical Storm Karen passed over the Caribbean leaving minor damages. T
...(more)
Latin America & the Caribbean: Weekly Situation Update (23-30 Septembe ... Mon, 30 Sep 2019 20:59:00 +0200.

Key points: Four weeks after Dorian slammed northwestern Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane, the Government of The Bahamas is shifting efforts from response to recovery. Tropical Storm Karen passed over the Caribbean leaving minor damages. T
...(more)
NASA finds Tropical Storm Karen's strength on western sideMon, 30 Sep 2019 17:06:00 +0200.

. by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center On Sept. 26 at 1:30 p.m. EDT, the MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this visible image of Karen, that showed a cluster of storms west of center and the storm appeared
...(more)

View more news

Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (38), (2), INFORM (2),