Croix, U.S

Original warning text

Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority; Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
1. On September 18, 1989, Hurricane Hugo hit the island of St. Croix with winds in excess of 140 miles per hour, damaging the steel containment walls around two of the main No. 6 fuel oil storage tanks at the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (VIWAPA) power plant in Christiansted Harbor on the north coast of St. Croix. Oil leaked from a severed discharge line near the bottom of one or both of these 54,000-barrel capacity tanks. It then overflowed the containment dike and moved toward the beach 250 feet away. VIWAPA personnel constructed sand-based containment trenches and berms along the beach to contain the oil. They also diverted oil to a diesel storage tank containment area. Oil began to leak through the trenches, proceeding down the sloping base toward the shoreline. U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Office (MSO) San Juan personnel flew over the area on September 21 and [...]
2. COMMODITY: NO. 6 FUEL OIL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 42000 GALLONS.
3. POSITION 17.750N 064.667W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6728: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6728