• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 11 / 04 / 2010

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Wednesday November 3, 2010. Haiti is bracing for the impact of what is expected to be Hurricane Tomas on Friday. A hurricane warning is now in effect for the Caribbean island, which is still struggling to recover from the January 12th earthquake and is currently coping with a cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 400 hundred lives.

The centre of Tomas is expected to pass by Jamaica tomorrow evening and then approach Haiti on Friday, by which time it is expected to be a hurricane, before moving on to the southeastern Bahamas the following day. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour.

In its latest advisory issued at 11 pm, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami indicated that watches and warnings for other territories have also been upgraded, including a hurricane watch now issued for the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

A hurricane warning is in effect for... Haiti. The southeastern BahamasThe Turks and Caicos Island. A tropical storm watch is in effect for...JamaicaThe southern coast of the Dominican Republic, from the Haiti border eastward to BarahonaThe Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba and Holguin.

Meantime, interests elsewhere in the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba have also been advised to monitor the progress of Tomas as additional watches and warnings may be required for portions of these areas tomorrow.

Tomas is located about 295 miles southwest of the Haitian capital,Port-au-Prince, and about 210 miles south-southeast of Kingston,Jamaica. It is moving toward the north-northwest near 6 miles per hour,with a turn towards the north and north-northeast expected over the next 48 hours.

Officials fear Tomas will put 1.5 million displaced Haitians at risk."The biggest fear is people being caught by high waters and the potential spread of cholera," United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, Nigel Fisher told Reuters.

The Jamaican government, meantime, has urged persons in low lying and flood prone areas to begin making arrangements to evacuate. Official evacuation orders could be given later, as well as announcements of closure of schools and non-essential services.

Source: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/118738