HAITI: Tent cities brace for storm

Record ID: 840342

  • Title: HAITI: Tent cities brace for storm
  • Date: 24th August 2012
  • Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE HAITI (AUGUST 23, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TENT CITY NEAR CANAAN NORTH OF PORT-AU-PRINCE (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) TENT CITY RESIDENT, AUGUSTIN MONA, SAYING: "Right now we are under a lot of pressure. That's what we just talked about, when under normal condition of wind of any kind. We have to find wood and sheets to reconstruct tents that have been destroyed. With this coming storm, I don't think that there will be any tents left." VARIOUS OF THE CAMP (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) CAMP RESIDENT, MYRLENE SIMILIEN, SAYING: "We have nothing, not even a place for shelter. If the storm comes the tent will go along the way." VARIOUS OF THE INTERIOR OF CAMP RESIDENT, MYRLENE SIMILIEN'S TENT VARIOUS OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER, LAURENT LAMOTHE, SAYING: "At this time we are working to relocate a number of people that live in tents to a temporary shelter. We will certainly be making more announcements on that throughout the day." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LIVING AT THE CAMP (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER, LAURENT LAMOTHE, SAYING: "We will continue coordinating. I will have a meeting with the international community on the matter and we will reinforce the mechanism of communication and also I asked the Minister of Interior to keep security tight and to make communication a priority." THE TENT CITY
  • Embargoed: 8th September 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Haiti
  • City:
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: Disasters,Weather
  • Reuters ID: LVA5PAGQ1PFGJYIOUWCT7ZJPA44M
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: With Tropical Storm Isaac barrelling down on the Caribbean islands and expected to become a hurricane by Friday (August 24), some residents of tent cities like this one north of Port-au-Prince in Haiti are expecting the worst.
    By Thursday (August 23) Isaac had already unleashed heavy rain and winds off Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and was expected to strengthen into a hurricane before tearing across the Island of Hispaniola Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic.
    Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, still has 400,000 people living in tents or makeshift shelters more than 2 and a half years after a devastating earthquake that took more than a quarter of a million lives.
    A resident of the Canaan camp, Augustin Mona, said life here is hard enough on good days let alone when they are bracing for a Category 1 hurricane.
    "Right now we are under a lot of pressure. That's what we just talked about, when under normal wind conditions of any kind we have to find wood and sheets to reconstruct tents that have been destroyed. With this coming storm, I don't think that there will be any tents left," Mona said.
    The U.S. National Hurricane Centre said Isaac was centred about 165 miles (255 km) south of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Thursday afternoon and was moving westward at 15 miles per hour (24 kph).
    The storm's top sustained winds dropped to 40 mph (65 kph) overnight, but the Miami-based NHC said re-strengthening was forecast over the next 48 hours and Isaac could become a hurricane on Friday before it reaches Hispaniola threatening those living here.
    "We have nothing, not even a place for shelter. If the storm comes the tent will go along the way," said another resident Myrlene Similien.
    The threat of Isaac is more than just high winds that could carry tents and shelters away.
    The storm is expected to dump between 8 and 12 inches (20 to 30.5 cm) of rain over some parts of Hispaniola, with total accumulations up to 20 inches (51 cm) in some areas, the NHC said.
    Haiti is highly prone to flooding due to deforestation and mountainous terrain further complicating efforts to protect people living here in makeshift homes.
    Haiti's Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said the government is trying to relocate vulnerable people to safer areas before the brunt of the storm hits.
    "At this time we are working to relocate a number of people that live in tents to a temporary shelter. We will certainly be making more announcements on that throughout the day," Lamothe said.
    "We will continue coordinating. I will have a meeting with the international community on the matter and we will reinforce the mechanism of communication and also I asked the Minister of Interior to keep security tight and to make communication a priority," added Lamothe.
    In addition to Isaac, the NHC said Tropical Storm Joyce formed on Thursday over the open Atlantic.
    The 10th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Joyce formed about 1,305 miles (2,105 km) east of the Caribbean's Leeward Islands and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km). It was not forecast to gain hurricane strength.
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