Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Fear of looming hurricane grips Haitian quake camps
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Video
Email
Print
Reprints
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Full Article
Read
Obama seeks to blunt Republican attack over comment
01 Nov 2010
Japan recalls envoy to Moscow over islands row
02 Nov 2010
Republicans set to win House, gain in Senate: Reuters/Ipsos poll
|
01 Nov 2010
Republicans score first key election wins
|
02 Nov 2010
Jailed tycoon warns of crisis in Russia
01 Nov 2010
Discussed
267
Wall St reform architect Frank fights for survival
250
Obama warns of policy rollback if Republicans win
96
Republicans to win control of House with 231 seats
Watched
Bejeweled bra exposed in NY
Thu, Oct 21 2010
Russian spy poses for Maxim
Tue, Oct 19 2010
Mexico's 20-yr old police chief
Thu, Oct 21 2010
Fear of looming hurricane grips Haitian quake camps
Tweet This
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Facebook
By Matthew Bigg
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - How do you prepare a tent to stand up to a hurricane?
That is the question faced by hundreds of thousands of Haitian earthquake survivors living in fragile outdoor camps who are bracing for a hurricane...
Related News
Tropical Storm Tomas downgraded but still heading for Haiti
Tue, Nov 2 2010
Path to Haiti polls clouded as cholera spreads
Tue, Nov 2 2010
Haiti scrambles to prepare for feared hurricane hit
Tue, Nov 2 2010
Tropical Storm Tomas triggers $12.8 mln insurance payout
Mon, Nov 1 2010
Haiti braces as Hurricane Tomas roars over Caribbean
Sun, Oct 31 2010
Analysis & Opinion
Poor Haiti, again
Related Topics
World »
United Nations »
Natural Disasters »
Related Video
Hurricane Tomas nears Haiti
Tue, Nov 2 2010
1 / 3
Earthquake victims buy groceries at an improvised store in Camp Corail about 12 miles (19 km) north of Port-au-Prince November 1, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
By Matthew Bigg
PORT-AU-PRINCE |
Tue Nov 2, 2010 6:44pm EDT
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - How do you prepare a tent to stand up to a hurricane?
That is the question faced by hundreds of thousands of Haitian earthquake survivors living in fragile outdoor camps who are bracing for a hurricane forecast to hit the poor, stricken Caribbean country over the weekend.
"This camp won't stand up to a big wind," said Jean Sincio, a coordinator for a camp of flimsy tents built in the grounds of a school. It is one of hundreds of tent and tarpaulin settlements in the wrecked capital Port-au-Prince housing more than 1.3 million people left homeless by the January 12 quake.
Tropical Storm Tomas hit the Caribbean's eastern islands as a hurricane three days ago, killing five people in St. Lucia before weakening. It is seen gathering force again to batter Haiti and Jamaica on Friday, forecasters said.
This has triggered another national emergency for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, which lost more than a quarter of a million people to the earthquake and is now also battling a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 300.
"Normally in Haiti we are not adequately prepared for this type of catastrophe, but this time people are even more fragile," said Jamson Charles, a local leader at the Acra 2 camp that climbs one of Port-au-Prince's many steep hills.
With United Nations aid officials fearing an hours-long battering from Tomas, volunteers have been clearing trash from drainage ditches to allow floodwater to disperse more easily.
But the Acra 2 camp's tents, like most in the capital, are made of tarpaulin tacked to a thin wooden frame, flimsy at the best of times and no match for a hurricane.
A full-scale evacuation of the more than a million camp dwellers is impossible -- there is simply not enough existing secure shelter where they can be transferred to -- so Haitian authorities are urging camp residents who can do so to seek safer refuge with family and friends who have solid homes.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tomas, which was carrying top sustained winds of 40 miles per hour, could regain hurricane strength by Thursday.
On Tuesday evening, the storm was about 385 miles from Port-au-Prince and moving west across the Caribbean Sea. It was expected to turn northwest in the next two days on a track that could pose a "significant threat" to Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the hurricane center said.
FEAR OF BUILDINGS STILL LINGERS
Underlining the quake survivors' vulnerability, a storm in September killed at least six people, injured 70 and destroyed or damaged the tent homes of more than 10,000 families. Floods and mudslides in mid-October killed 10 more people.
The United Nations and aid agencies, already stretched by the still spreading cholera epidemic, have launched a major logistics operation to prepare for the hurricane, rushing food, medicine and shelter materials to the camps and to coastal communities seen at risk from storm surge or flooding.
Disaster-prone Haiti is regularly battered by tropical storms. Four struck the country in quick succession in 2008, killing hundreds and forcing residents of Gonaives on the west coast to live on their roofs for weeks when the town flooded.
1
2
Next
World
United Nations
Natural Disasters
Add a Comment
*We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
© Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Wednesday, 3 November 2010 Bombs kill dozens as Iraqi Christians mourn
|
In a Stockholm hotel, mobile phones replace room keys
GM hopes to raise $10 bln in IPO: report
US-TECH Summary
Sikhs Want Obama To Raise 1984 Riots Case With India
Oracle to buy retail software company ATG
Planet Green's "The Fabulous Beekman Boys" To Host Holiday Special
Russia warns of more visits to disputed islands
|
HP's new CEO to testify at Oracle-SAP trial
Yemen begins trial of radical preacher wanted by U.S.
|
Last Minute Campaign Faux Pas Feature Monopoly and Morgan Freeman
Leonardo DiCaprio Nabs Serial Killer Role For New Flick
Iranian woman to be hanged Wednesday: rights group
|
Adele Returns With Second Album "21" In 2011
Kosovo to hold early December 12 vote after government falls
|
Jennifer Love Hewitt Developing New Comedies For ABC, Fox
Germany's new e-ID cards raise hackles over privacy
Britain's Times releases paywall customer figures
Report Finds Auto Insurance Rates on The Rise Since 2007
Mexicans mourn on Day of the Dead as drug war rages
|
Another Vietnam blogger held: reports
Crime Rates in Central Park Skyrocket
Scenarios
T-Mobile USA promises better value-tiered pricing
Kellogg 3Q Profit Falls 6 Percent
Kim Kardashian Recording Album With The-Dream
Google-backed startup takes location game global
In a Stockholm hotel, mobile phones replace room keys
HP's new CEO to testify at Oracle-SAP trial
|
Justices ask sharp questions on California videogame law
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Indonesian warns volcano 'could erupt for months'
Julianne Moore speaks out in favor of gay parents
Germany's new e-ID cards raise hackles over privacy
|
Feisty Spanish women top flirting league table: study
Sotheby's kicks off big New York art auction season
Debate over dolphin hunt a sham: "The Cove" star
McDonald's brings back a cult classic: the McRib
Japan conductor Ozawa honoured by Vienna Philharmonic
Tiffany eyes aggressive expansion in China
Senior Chinese official focuses on business in Poland
China to trim rare-earth exports in 2011: state media
China's central bank to ease 'counter-crisis' policies
Harley-Davidson plans assembly plant in India
Pakistani stocks; o/n rates end up; rupee firmer
India hikes rates for a sixth time to tame inflation
Insurer Aviva to withdraw from Taiwan
Jackson children to appear in rare TV interview
|
Bruce Springsteen turns reflective at Rome film fest
|
Suzuki's net profit more than doubles on Asian sales
Fair Game lifts cover on Valerie Plame affair
|
Julianne Moore speaks out in favor of gay parents
|
Debate over dolphin hunt a sham: The Cove star
|
Actor Charlie Sheen files for divorce
|
Bombs rock Iraq capital, 63 killed
Suspect parcel for Italy PM catches fire at airport
South Korea fires warning shots, second incident in days
|
Parcel bombs target heads of state, Athens embassies
Bombs kill dozens as Iraqi Christians mourn
Iranian woman to be hanged Wednesday: rights group
|
Oracle buying Art Technology for one billion dollars
More delays for Discovery shuttle launch
Suspect package at Italian airport was for Berlusconi: police
Dell acquires 'cloud' computing services company Boomi
Bush autobiography says he considered dumping Cheney
Iranian woman to be hanged Wednesday
Bombs kill dozens as Iraqi Christians mourn
|
Lileth Hogarth's Couture Collection To Debut In November
Toddler survives seven-floor fall in France
Current TV's "Vanguard" Explores Hot Topic Of U.S.-Mexico Border Control
Baghdad bombs kill 57
US videogame maker EA in deal with Facebook
Electrical malfunction delays Discovery launch to Thursday
Plane package for Italy PM catches fire: police source
|
New York: Coumo Builds A Political Dynasty With Gubernatorial Win
Dell to buy cloud computing company Boomi
Fed weighs landmark move to prime US economy
Bayside Rocks Festival To Kick Off Nov. 20
57 killed by Baghdad car bombs
U.S. and UK and Australia warn of Philippine danger
|
Awlaqi charged in Yemen with incitement to kill foreigners
Connecticut: Blumenthal Pins McMahon, Wins Senate Race
Rubin and Panathinaikos stumble to bore draw
36 killed, 320 wounded in Iraq explosions
Greece suspends air freight after bombs found
|
Delaware: Coons Wins Biden's Senate Seat, Defeating O'Donnell
US found suspected test parcels in Yemen bomb plot
French supporters fear Iranian woman to be stoned Wednesday
Quake shakes Serbia, two dead, 50 hurt
|
Thirty killed in car bombings in Shiite districts in Baghdad
Suspicious package seized at Merkel office
Florida: Rubio Leads Party-Hopping Governor
US Fed opens meeting expected to launch new stimulus
Kentucky: Paul Scores First Major Tea Party Win
Istanbul governor says bomber separatist from Kurd area
Fear of looming hurricane grips Haitian quake camps
|
Russia's Khodorkovsky 'doesn't want to die in prison'
Grieving Christians mourn dead from Iraq church bloodbath
President, ex-IMF official draw in Ivorian poll so far
|
Hong Kong priest calls city's richest man the 'devil'
South Korea fires more warning shots
U.S. Republicans win House and gain in Senate
China's dream for rare earths rests on grim costs
Analysts' views
UN chief raises human rights in China speech
Swiss seek spot on Europe's fashion catwalk
Indonesian volcano rumbles as president visits camps
Factbox
US concerned about blind Chinese activist
Stallone denies ripping Obama in Twitter message
Yemen hunts bomb suspect as oil pipeline attacked
S.Korea govt bonds gain as won rises to 6-mth high
James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie to voice "Arthur Christmas"
South Korea fires shots to warn North fishing boat
S.Korea spotted buying dollars to stem won rise
Hit Israel TV series breaks new ground on sexuality
Seoul shares open up on Wall St gains, U.S. Fed
American Ballet Theatre to perform in Cuba
Thailand scrambles to reach flood victims
Kurdish love story moves Rome film festival
N.Korea won't disrupt G20 summit says S.Korea
"Fair Game" lifts cover on Valerie Plame affair
Japan's envoy to Moscow returns home over island row
Stallone denies ripping Obama in Twitter message
|
Taylor Swift's new album biggest opener in 5 years
|
Soap stars and Motley rocker join Skating with Stars
|
MTV apologizes for Jersey Shore segment
|
American Ballet Theatre to perform in Cuba
|
James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie to voice Arthur Christmas
|
Ex-Russian PM Chernomyrdin dies at 72
Lebanon PM backs UN tribunal on Hariri murder
Turkey reinstates YouTube ban
BMW profits boosted by sales in emerging markets
Israel postpones UK strategic dialogue
Qaeda group in Iraq says Christians 'legitimate targets'
Japan warns Russia against visits to disputed isles
|
California's legal pot plans go up in smoke
Qualcomm eyes Europe growth via acquisitions: report
Governor Takes Special Election For Robert Byrd's Senate Seat
NATO head urges new start with Russia
|
Lloyds bank picks Santander UK head as CEO
US demands Iran stop adultery execution
World Bank warning over China trade imbalance risk
American Vote Changes Power Equation, Reiterates Power Of Democracy
Gaza car blast kills one, Hamas blames Israel
|
Airliners fly in face of cyber attack scares
Parcel bombs target German, Italian leaders, embassies
Brown Beats Whitman In California Governor Race
France says Iran woman will not be hanged Wednesday
|
NATO: Service member killed in north Afghanistan
Democrats Lose Majority In House; Boehner To Take Speakership
Harry Reid Wins Re-Election; Democrats Retain Senate Majority
Russian ex-PM, Gazprom founder Chernomyrdin dies
|
London braces for Underground train strike
Fish Oil Does Not Appear To Slow Alzheimer's Disease
Indonesia's Merapi erupts again, shelters moved
|
DOT Fines Delta $100,000 For Lying To Passengers About Lost Luggage Liability
Black Raspberries May Prevent Colon Cancer
Philippines boosts security after attack alert
Chinese man arrested for spreading Nobel prize news
Turkey reinstates YouTube ban
|
Clinton urges PNG to end 'culture of violence' against women
Indonesian volcano explodes in new eruption
French winemakers cling to hand-picking traditions
AOL revenue drops 26 percent on slumping ad sales
|
Indigenous Colombians shun turtle meat to save species
Indonesia's Merapi erupts again
HP's new CEO to testify at Oracle-SAP trial
|
Clinton promotes human rights in Papua New Guinea
Leonard Cohen postpones Cambodia gig indefinitely
Major new eruption at Indonesian volcano Merapi
Qualcomm eyes Europe growth via acquisitions: report
|
Pakistani stocks end lower; rupee, o/n rates flat
World watches US election and speculates on impact
Indonesia expands volcano evacuation zone
MTV apologizes for "Jersey Shore" segment
Police witness in Philippine massacre says he feared clan
Clinton in violence-plagued Papua New Guinea
Chinese firms use Bruce Lee name without family OK
Japan's MUFG 'in talks to buy RBS assets'
Taylor Swift's new album biggest opener in 5 years
One dead, German woman missing as floods hit Malaysia
Asian markets buoyant ahead of US Fed announcement
Soap stars and Motley rocker join Skating with Stars
China yuan policy 'hurting' neighbours: experts
S.Korea may send troops to UAE over reactor contract
China considering rare earths strategic reserves
Indias Environ Minister Blames Harry Potter For Disappearing Owls
Foreign buying of S.Korea bonds at 1-yr high in Oct
Saudi Clerics Ban Women From Working As Cashiers In Supermarkets
Seoul shares up 0.93 pct on insurers, retailers
Last Minute Campaign Faux Pas Feature Monopoly and Morgan Freeman
Actor Mistaken As Gunman Shot Dead During Filming
S.Korea sees U.S. QE causing S.Korea asset bubbles
Greek Police Find Parcel Bombs Addressed To Sarkozy, 3 Embassies
Japan's MUFG to buy RBS project finance business
Student Punished For Wearing Rosary Wins Damages From School District
Stand Back Spiderman, Rabbi Meir Kahane Debuts as Comic Book Hero
Charlie Sheen Not Expected To Die This Week
Brazilians Elect First Woman President
British Police Now Armed With Guide Against Unruly Witches
Tyler Perry tests box office draw with Colored Girls
|
Hollywood stars latest weapon in Gulf Arab cinema wars
|
MGM studio files bankruptcy, eyes lender takeover
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights