Haiti's flood-prone city of Cap Haitien braces for Hurricane Irma

Record ID: 909406

  • Title: Haiti's flood-prone city of Cap Haitien braces for Hurricane Irma
  • Date: 7th September 2017
  • Summary: CAP HAITIEN, HAITI (SEPTEMBER 07, 2017) (REUTERS) CARS DRIVING AROUND AS RAIN STARTS TO COME DOWN PALM TREES SWAYING IN THE WIND BOAT TIED TO TREE NEXT TO WATER WAVES HITTING SHORE MEMBERS OF CAP HAITIEN'S CIVIL PROTECTION AUTHORITY GATHERING MORE MEMBERS OF CAP HAITIEN'S CIVIL PROTECTION AUTHORITY GATHERED AND COORDINATING (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) CAP HAITIEN'S MAYOR YVROSE PIERRE SAYING: "As you can see, our Civil Protection Authority is motivated and started working yesterday. We have police here and they will be going to the shelters and will help evacuate people from risk zones. There are some people who do not want to evacuate but we are heading over there now to move them." GENERAL VIEW OF BEACH, TREES SWAYING IN THE WIND, CLOUDS MOVING IN AND COVERING MOUNTAIN PALM TREES SWAYING IN THE WIND MEMBERS OF CIVIL PROTECTION AUTHORITY LAYING DOWN SANDBAGS WORKERS PREPARING MORE SANDBAGS TRAVELLING SHOT OF CARS DRIVING ON STREET, MORE RAIN VARIOUS OF FOOD VENDOR AND PEDESTRIANS ON CORNER, EATING TREES SWAYING IN THE WIND WHICH IS GETTING STRONGER, STARTING TO RAIN
  • Embargoed: 21st September 2017 18:08
  • Keywords: Hurricane Irma Haiti catastrophe monster storm flooding rain
  • Location: CAP HAITIEN, HAITI AND INTERNET
  • City: CAP HAITIEN, HAITI AND INTERNET
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016XLMYBR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Residents in Haiti's flood-prone northern city of Cap Haitien prepared on Thursday (September 07) for monster storm Hurricane Irma after it devastated a string of Caribbean islands killing at least 10 people.
    Hurricane Irma plowed past the Dominican Republic towards Haiti as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century took aim at parts of Cuba and Florida.
    With winds of around 175 mph (290 kph), the storm lashed several small islands in the northeast Caribbean, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the British Virgin Islands, tearing down trees, flattening homes and causing widespread damage.
    The eye of the hurricane did not directly hit Puerto Rico, passing north early Thursday, battering the U.S. territory with high winds and heavy rains. Three people were killed and around two-thirds of the population lost their electricity, Governor Ricardo Rossello said.
    The eye of Irma was moving west-northwest off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, heading slightly north of Haiti, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.
    The United Nations Children's Fund warned that millions of children could be at risk in the two countries, which share the island of Hispaniola. Impoverished Haiti has been particularly vulnerable to hurricanes and heavy rains.
    Irma's eye was forecast to pass over the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British territory, and the Bahamas before moving towards Cuba's keys.
    Irma will likely hit Florida as a very powerful Category 4 storm on Sunday, with storm surges and flooding beginning within the next 48 hours, according to the NHC. Gas shortages in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area worsened on Thursday, with sales up to five times the norm.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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