Haitians began to dig themselves out of the mud, one day after Tropical Storm Isaac doused the Caribbean nation and killed eight people here and another two in neighboring Dominican Republic.
With a reported total of 10 deaths for the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the two countries, the scale of devastation was less than many people had feared.
But the capital and countryside of disaster-prone Haiti did suffer sporadic flooding, fallen poles and scores of toppled tents that housed people who lost their homes in the massive 2010 earthquake.
Joseph Edgard Celestin of Haiti’s Civil Protection Office offered few details on the storm-related deaths, but said one man was swept away as he tried to cross a river in a village in the country’s north.
Haiti’s Civil Protection Office said in a separate report that a 51-year-old woman was killed in the southern coastal town of Marigot after a tree fell on her home. A 10-year-old girl was killed in the village of Thomazeau after a wall collapsed on her.
In neighboring Dominican Republic, police reported that two men were swept away by flooded rivers that burst their banks. One victim was identified as Pedro Peralta, a former mayor in Villa Altagracia, a town northwest of the capital of Santo Domingo.
His body was recovered Sunday by rescuers on the banks of the Haina River.
Another male victim, whose identity was not disclosed, was swept away by the Yaguaza River, Dominican police said.
Across Haiti, the number of people evacuated due to flooding rose over the weekend. More than 14,000 people had left their homes and another 13,500 people were living in temporary shelters until Saturday night, the Civil Protection Office reported.
Some 8,400 evacuees were in the country’s western department, the most populous and where the capital of Port-au-Prince is located.
The World Food Programme had distributed two days of food to 8,300 of the people who had left their houses for 18 camps.
The Haitian government reported that a dozen houses were destroyed and another 269 damaged.
Impoverished Haiti is prone to flooding and mudslides because much of the country is heavily deforested and rainwater rushes down barren mountainsides. It’s not uncommon for storms to turn deadly; a storm in the Caribbean last year unleashed mudslides that killed more than 20 people in the capital.
US GULF STATES ON HEIGHTENED ALERT OVER TROPICAL STORM
Three US Gulf Coast states declared states of emergency as Tropical Storm Isaac barreled toward land, threatening to slam into Louisiana as a damaging hurricane.
The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama issued their declarations on Sunday as Florida, which declared a state of emergency a day earlier, was drenched by heavy rains and strong winds from the storm.
The declarations make funds available to respond to the storm and order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans.
A hurricane warning was in effect east of Morgan City Louisiana to Destin, Florida, including metropolitan New Orleans, which is marking the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city and killed around 1,800 people.
The storm is forecast to hit as a category two hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale – with top winds swirling at 83-95 kilometres per hour – when it makes landfall.
‘We are encouraging everyone to get prepared now to ensure that you have an evacuation plan in place, plenty of water, non-perishable food items, hygiene supplies, sufficient clothing and any prescription medications you or your family may need in the event of the storm,’ Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said in a statement.
‘As with every storm, we always hope for the best and prepare for the worst.’
He recommended voluntary evacuations within the hurricane watch area, which includes low-lying areas, those zones outside of levee protection and areas south of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said he was mobilising the resources that his community needed as the storm approached. Bentley ordered mandatory evacuations in parts of Mobile and Baldwin Counties. The National Hurricane Centre has issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane warning for multiple counties in Mississippi.
FIRST CASUALTY
The expected hurricane has forced the Republicans to delay the main events of the US Republican convention by a day. The convention which was supposed to have started on Monday will reconvene on Tuesday, when the weather is expected to clear up. Tens of thousands of Republicans will be in Tampa for speeches, parties and the formal nomination of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as the candidate to take on President Barack Obama in the 6 November election.
With a reported total of 10 deaths for the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the two countries, the scale of devastation was less than many people had feared.
But the capital and countryside of disaster-prone Haiti did suffer sporadic flooding, fallen poles and scores of toppled tents that housed people who lost their homes in the massive 2010 earthquake.
Joseph Edgard Celestin of Haiti’s Civil Protection Office offered few details on the storm-related deaths, but said one man was swept away as he tried to cross a river in a village in the country’s north.
Haiti’s Civil Protection Office said in a separate report that a 51-year-old woman was killed in the southern coastal town of Marigot after a tree fell on her home. A 10-year-old girl was killed in the village of Thomazeau after a wall collapsed on her.
In neighboring Dominican Republic, police reported that two men were swept away by flooded rivers that burst their banks. One victim was identified as Pedro Peralta, a former mayor in Villa Altagracia, a town northwest of the capital of Santo Domingo.
His body was recovered Sunday by rescuers on the banks of the Haina River.
Another male victim, whose identity was not disclosed, was swept away by the Yaguaza River, Dominican police said.
Across Haiti, the number of people evacuated due to flooding rose over the weekend. More than 14,000 people had left their homes and another 13,500 people were living in temporary shelters until Saturday night, the Civil Protection Office reported.
Some 8,400 evacuees were in the country’s western department, the most populous and where the capital of Port-au-Prince is located.
The World Food Programme had distributed two days of food to 8,300 of the people who had left their houses for 18 camps.
The Haitian government reported that a dozen houses were destroyed and another 269 damaged.
Impoverished Haiti is prone to flooding and mudslides because much of the country is heavily deforested and rainwater rushes down barren mountainsides. It’s not uncommon for storms to turn deadly; a storm in the Caribbean last year unleashed mudslides that killed more than 20 people in the capital.
US GULF STATES ON HEIGHTENED ALERT OVER TROPICAL STORM
Three US Gulf Coast states declared states of emergency as Tropical Storm Isaac barreled toward land, threatening to slam into Louisiana as a damaging hurricane.
The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama issued their declarations on Sunday as Florida, which declared a state of emergency a day earlier, was drenched by heavy rains and strong winds from the storm.
The declarations make funds available to respond to the storm and order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans.
A hurricane warning was in effect east of Morgan City Louisiana to Destin, Florida, including metropolitan New Orleans, which is marking the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city and killed around 1,800 people.
The storm is forecast to hit as a category two hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale – with top winds swirling at 83-95 kilometres per hour – when it makes landfall.
‘We are encouraging everyone to get prepared now to ensure that you have an evacuation plan in place, plenty of water, non-perishable food items, hygiene supplies, sufficient clothing and any prescription medications you or your family may need in the event of the storm,’ Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said in a statement.
‘As with every storm, we always hope for the best and prepare for the worst.’
He recommended voluntary evacuations within the hurricane watch area, which includes low-lying areas, those zones outside of levee protection and areas south of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said he was mobilising the resources that his community needed as the storm approached. Bentley ordered mandatory evacuations in parts of Mobile and Baldwin Counties. The National Hurricane Centre has issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane warning for multiple counties in Mississippi.
FIRST CASUALTY
The expected hurricane has forced the Republicans to delay the main events of the US Republican convention by a day. The convention which was supposed to have started on Monday will reconvene on Tuesday, when the weather is expected to clear up. Tens of thousands of Republicans will be in Tampa for speeches, parties and the formal nomination of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as the candidate to take on President Barack Obama in the 6 November election.