A family in Cité Soleil takes shelter in a makeshift tent city after the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Haiti, Latin America: Week in Review

Haiti Waits For Tropical Storm Tomas; Landslides And Flooding Expected

November 5, 2010 By Staff

A family in Cité Soleil takes shelter in a makeshift tent city after the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Today in Latin America

Top Story — Rains from Tropical Storm Tomas began battering Haiti Thursday, as thousands of people wait in makeshift tents and prepare for the risks of deadly flooding and landslides.

Tomas strengthened Thursday night and began to lean toward the low-lying southwestern coast of the country. Port-au-Prince and much of the country lay under the “dirty” side of a system that brings with it a string of thunderstorms.

The storm could form into a full blown hurricane, with winds reaching 75 miles an hour and 5 inches of rain expected in some areas.

The destruction that the storm could cause has many health workers worried about the possible risks it could cause, especially as Haiti is in the midst of a cholera epidemic.

“Protect your lives,” Haitian President René Préval said, on national radio Thursday, according to The BBC.

Haiti’s civil protection department has asked people living in the country’s many post-quake settlement camps to go to the homes of friends and family. There are an estimated 1.3 million homeless people in Haiti.

“I’m scared that if I leave they’ll tear this whole place down. I don’t have money to pay for a home somewhere else,” said Clarice Napoux, 21, who lives on a soccer field behind the St. Therese church in Petionville, according to The Associated Press.

Other Top News: Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has been called by a U.S. Court to testify in a case filed by Colombian victims of paramilitary violence against Drummond, a coal mining company (link in Spanish).

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Image: United Nations Photo @ Flickr.

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