Dominican authorities urged the population and civil protection institutions to remain alert and prepare contingency plans for the possibility of tropical storm Bret affecting the country as a hurricane.

Santo Domingo.- The National Meteorological Office (Onamet) reported that, if it continues on its current trajectory, Bret would impact this Caribbean nation next Saturday afternoon.

In its most recent report, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), quoted here, indicated that Bret was located 1,815 kilometers east of the Windward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour and a westward movement, and could become a hurricane in the next 48 hours.

Onamet called on civil protection agencies and the population, in general, to be attentive to the next reports issued from this national forecasting center.

Its director, Gloria Ceballos, said that Bret “could be in the south of Puerto Rico on Saturday morning and in the course of the afternoon to the south of the Dominican Republic or directly affecting the national territory." (PL)