Latest on TS Tomas from Haiti

November 5, 2010November 5, 2010

HAVANA TIMES, Nov. 4— Humanitarian agencies try to displace a maximum of people of the zones threatened by the Tomas tropical storm. “The situation is difficult, because getting people to move again is tricky,” said Doyle, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), many fear to lose the few possessions they have left.

For the past 24 hours, the government has been advising Haitians to seek sturdy shelter “humanitarian organizations are doing what they can, but with approximately 1.3 million Haitians homeless, the task before them is enormous […] for most displaced people and those living in communities vulnerable to flooding, there are few good options” said the IOM spokesman.

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IOM said that the tents will not withstand the combination of strong winds and heavy rain, recalling that many structures that served usually shelters (schools, hospitals …) have been partially or totally destroyed and not the earthquake are unusable.

The forecasters are carrying, perhaps, of a “good news…” They make to know that the Tomas tropical storm, which was to intensify in the 15 next hours and to become possibly an hurricane Cat. 1, will turn into a hurricane just after passing the north of Haiti. However, they recall that there exists always a risk for Haiti because in forecast models, Haiti is always in a zone of uncertainty.

Situation of the Tropical Storm Tomas at 10:00am (Haiti time):

The center of Tropical Storm Tomas was located at 16.3 degree North and 76.1 degrees West. At 475 km southwest of Port au Prince (295 miles) with sustained winds of 75 km/h (45 mph). Tomas is currently moving at 13 km/h (8 mph) along a trajectory north. The zone of influence of winds extending up to 140 km (85 mi) and varies depending on the strength of the storm (or Tomas becomes a hurricane)

Following the current trajectory, the center of Tropical Storm Tomas is located at:

335km (208mi) of Jérémie
327km (204mi) of Les Cayes
476km (296mi) of Saint-Marc
475km (295mi) of Port-au-Prince
437km (272mi) of Jacmel
125km (205mi) of Kingston (Jamaica)

If the trajectory and speed of Tomas do not change, on Friday at 8:00am Tomas will be:

113km (70mi) of Jérémie
177km (109mi) of Les Cayes
217km (135mi) of Saint-Marc
270km (168mi) of Port-au-Prince
270km (168mi) of Jacmel
265km (164mi) of Cap Haïtien

President Rene Preval and Prime Minister held an emergency cabinet meeting about the evacuation of coastal communities.