© The Associated Press/David McFaddenFisherman Daniel Edwards bails his small wooden skiff out in Port Royal, a fishing village just outside of Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday Aug. 5, 2012.
Port Royal, Jamaica - Fishermen near Jamaica's capital tied wooden skiffs down along a rocky shore Sunday as a poorly organized Tropical Storm Ernesto spun past the Caribbean country's southern coast on a path expected to carry it by Honduras and across the Yucatan Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico.
Emergency officials said some eastern parts of Jamaica were drenched by rain from Ernesto and more heavy rainfall and gusty winds were likely as the rapidly moving storm passed by, though U.S. forecasters said it was becoming less organized.
Jamaica's emergency management agency urged people in flood-prone areas to be on alert and avoid flooded waterways and submerged roads. The government earlier ordered fishermen on outlying cays to evacuate and move to the main island.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller called on all Jamaicans to make the necessary preparations to ensure their safety.
"I urge you to especially consider the children, the sick, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and the most vulnerable in the society," she said.
Daniel Edwards, a dreadlocked fisherman in Port Royal, a small fishing village at the tip of a spit of land near Kingston's airport, said vigorous lightning lit up the sky over the sea late Saturday and early Sunday.
Bailing out his small wooden fishing boat next to a dilapidated wooden dock, Edwards said he wasn't overly concerned about the storm.
"It's not much of a muchness," said the veteran fisherman, decked out in rain gear.
