What is Haiti going to do?

[Aquawind]

Ok now it's official and Haiti has a serious hurricane forecast to make landfall.
Recent disasters have left them highly vulnerable with many homeless and illness.
What more can and will they do to prepare for this serious threat from flooding rains at least?
Will the current outside support prepare by leaving or bring in more to prepare?
Just tell people to move away from the flood prone locations?
At this point what can be done?
It's disturbing...

[boca]

Well what we can hope for is that shear will be high enough to continue to weaken Tomas.

[snowcane180]

This might not even make it to haiti.

[jinftl]

In the Tomas discusision in the Active Storm Forums you mention that Tomas might 'explode' tomorrow night and that it could become a major, so not sure what you mean that it might not even make it to haiti? Is that a reference to track or intensity?

The catastrophic rain threat...and the resulting flooding....of slow moving systems, almost regardless of wind intensity, are well-documented in haiti.

This might not even make it to haiti.

[Aquawind]

Is there anything going on related to this or are they waiting for warnings from the NHC? Is there any structure or emergency management type of gov't organizations? Who the heck is running that country and what are they doing? Send some links or gimme some real info please!

I would really like to hear from people who have a direct connection to this country!

[chicagostorm97]

I was thinking the same thought just didnt know how to word it. Im worried about what their gonna do.

[TreasureIslandFLGal]

So many are still in tents. Many fled the city for the hillsides, which are extremely vulnerable to mudslides with so little vegetation to hold the soil to the earth.
Add to that the disease which will undoubtedly spread in the wake of a bad storm, and they are in big trouble. Many will try to avoid the winds by entering unstable homes, and I suspect we will see high death rates from this storm. Haiti usually saw death rates, but with the numerous "tent cities" now, this is poised to be an epic disaster. Get ready for the media flood following the storm. The aftermath will be horrible to see.

[dixiebreeze]

I've been extremely worried about this from the git-go. A hurricane on top of a cholera epidemic, the aftermath of the earthquake and pledged and donated funding not arriving for those folks are a horrific scenario. Prayers for the Haitians.

[Aquawind]

First death already.. They don't have mandatory evacuations? "instructions" evidently they have shelter or safe areas, transportation, supplies? Who is giving the instructions?

http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1581- ... storm.html

While the center of the storm Tomas approaches the coast, Jean-Max Bellerive, Haiti Prime Minister, urged his fellow citizens to protect themselves by agreeing to leave dangerous areas and follow the instructions.

Alex Larsen, Minister of Public Health reported meanwhile that a worsening of the epidemic is predictable because of the flood to come "The situation will worsen further if you do not follow hygiene guidelines" insisted the minister.

[Aquawind]

http://www.news-press.com/article/20101 ... -and-storm

An estimated 1.3 million homeless faced their hardest decision since the earthquake: Do they follow the government's advice and leave their slapped together shelters ahead of the storm and risk never being allowed to return? Or do they risk their lives and stay?

Haiti's civil protection department has said those living in post-quake camps should go to the homes of friends and family. Buses began circulating just after dark to take camp residents away, but few were willing to go. Four civil protection buses that pulled up at a camp in the Canape-Vert district left with about five passengers in all.
Officials did say where the buses would go.
President Rene Preval warned residents to leave camps in a Thursday radio address, but acknowledged, "The government doesn't have enough places to move everyone."

Civil protection officials in Haiti have a list of thousands of usable shelters in the capital — mostly schools and churches ó but it was not being released to the public despite pressure from international aid groups who said the information could save lives.
"We don't want people to know where these buildings are because people are going to invade and we won't have enough places for the people who really need them," Lochard said.