Road Town Jetty: As the Virgin Islands has been placed under a Tropical Storm Warning due to the approaching Tropical Storm Laura, the BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA) has announced it will be doing a phased closure of its ports facilities across the Territory today, August 21, 2020. Photo: VINO/File

The port facility at Port Purcell will be the first to close, from 4:30pm, today, August 21, 2020. Photo: VINO/File

The BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA), in a press release today, August 21, 2020, said it will issue an additional advisory on the re-opening of port facilities once assessments of each facility are completed. Photo: VINO/File

The port facility at Port Purcell will be the first to close, from 4:30pm, followed by the Road Town Jetty at 6:30pm, West End at 6:00pm, Jost Van Dyke at 6:30pm, Virgin Gorda at 7:00pm and Anegada at 5:00pm.

The BVIPA, in a press release today, said it will issue an additional advisory on the re-opening of port facilities once assessments of each facility are completed.

TS Laura bringing 45mph winds

The National Hurricane Centre has reported that Tropical Storm Laura was located near latitude 17.0 North, longitude 60.8 West at 2:00pm.

The system is moving toward the west at near 18 mph. On the current forecast track, the center of Tropical Storm Laura will move near or over portions of the Leeward Islands later today, near or over Puerto Rico Saturday morning, and near the northern coast of Hispaniola late Saturday and early Sunday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph with higher gusts. Some slow strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km) from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1007 mb (29.74 inches).