Tropical Storm Dorian Preparations Underway: Emergency Declared in Puerto Rico

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Preparations were underway for several islands in the eastern Caribbean on Monday as Tropical Storm Dorian drew closer.

In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, a state of emergency was declared by Wanda Vázquez on Monday evening, according to local reports.

(MORE: Check the Latest Forecast for Dorian)

Meanwhile, Barbados officials issued stern warnings and much of the eastern Caribbean island shut down on Monday as residents grabbed supplies and boarded up property ahead of Dorian's arrival.

Schools and government offices were closed across the island as Prime Minister Mia Mottley asked residents to remain inside during the storm.

"When you're dead, you're dead," she said in a televised address late Sunday. "Stay inside and get some rest."

In St. Lucia, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet announced that everything on the island of nearly 179,000 people would shut down by 6 p.m. EDT on Monday, with Dorian expected to hit in the predawn hours on Tuesday.

Some were still boarding up windows and buying food and water, but not Joannes Lamontagne, who lives in the island's southwest region. He said by phone that everything at his hotel, Serenity Escape, was already protected.

"I don't wait until it's announced," he said of the storm. "We're always prepared no matter what."

(MORE: Why Smaller Tropical Systems Can Be Difficult to Forecast)

Meanwhile, in Barbados, many of the 285,000 inhabitants heeded the government's warning, including Fitz Bostic, owner of Rest Haven Beach Cottages. He said he's prepared in case officials shut down power and utility services as they have in previous storms.

"We have to be very cautious," he said in a telephone interview. "The word 'storm' frightens me, man. I'm very nervous."

In Puerto Rico, hundreds of people have been crowding into grocery stores and gas stations to prepare for Dorian, buying food, water and generators, among other things. Many are worried about power outages and heavy rains on an island still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit nearly two years ago. Some 30,000 homes still have blue tarps as roofs and the electrical grid remains fragile and prone to outages even during brief rain showers.

Forecasters said the storm could pass near or south of Puerto Rico on Wednesday and approach the Dominican Republic on Wednesday night, perhaps as a Category 1 hurricane. In the U.S. commonwealth, officials expressed confidence that a dire situation similar to 2017's Hurricane Maria wouldn't play out.

"Puerto Rico is ready," Zoé Laboy, chief of staff for Gov. Vázquez, told the New York Times on Sunday.