Risk of landslides as Tropical storm Tomas slams Haiti

Risk of landslides as Tropical storm Tomas slams Haiti

Tropical storm Tomas barrelled through the Caribbean on Friday, bringing with it heavy rains and howling winds in Haiti, Cuba and Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center announced.

As of 11 p.m. EDT, the storm was spotted 160 kilometers or 100 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and 370 kilometers west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. Tomas intensified, packing winds of 100 kilometers per hour, 15 kilometers per hour stronger than what was recorded earlier.

The center said that Tomas may become a hurricane soon after regaining strength as it moves towards the Bahamas where warnings have been issued. Also alerted are Turks and Caicos, Guantanamo province in Cuba and northern parts of Haiti.

An estimated 38 centimeters or 15 inches of rainfall may be dumped in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the center said. Haiti is especially vulnerable as it tries to recover from the devastating earthquake and a cholera outbreak in refugee camps with a million people.

“These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain,” the center advisory said. Storm surges as high as 0.9 meters or 3 feet may hit coastal areas in Haiti and 1.5 meters along the coast of southeastern Cuba.

Haiti evacuees who are living in temporary shelters since the earthquake did not want to move even if officials issued warnings about floods, according to American Refugee Committee Haiti director Silvie Louchez.

The heavy rains of Tomas already caused landslides in San Jose, Costa Rica yesterday. At least 20 persons are dead and 27 are still missing.

Posted by George Daniels on Saturday November 06 2010, 12:03 PM EST. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0