Hurricane Chris threatens Haiti:
Deadly floods and mudslides are likely in saturated region near President René Préval's home
HaitiAction.net - Tropical Storm CHRIS has been gaining strength and is probable to reach hurricane strength overnight. Even though some global models predict that this system will weaken, most National Hurricane Center forecasters seem to think that the opposite is more likely and Chris will reach hurricane force - Category 1 - soon:
"Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph...95 Km/hr...With higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours. Another air force reconnaissance aircraft will investigate CHRIS during the overnight hours."
NRL Alert #6 - 11PM EST - Tuesday August 1, 2006
Currently on the same latitude as Port au Prince - 18.3N - Chris has been on a west-northwesterly track but has been shifting to the left in response to a building ridge to the north. This effect would steer Chris closer to the northern regions Haiti that are already saturated by the last storm which was classified as a "tropical depression." In any case, the precipitation from Storm Chris could leave up to 8 inches of rain some regions.
President René Preval's home in the northern town of Marmelade is likely to see flooding and mudslides in the surrounding region. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was expected to arrive in Port au Prince tomorrow - Wednesday August 2 - to meet with Preval's cabinet and the Haitian parliament and stay for a few days, but with the approach of this storm and Israel's aggression on Lebanon, it's likely that the Haiti visit will be cut short or postponed.
www.HaitiAction.net will track this storm and will have updates over the next few days.
There are many official resources on the Hurricane CHRIS page
and you're encouraged to check the links for the latest information and alerts.
HaitiAction.net Links Latest Info on Tropical Cyclones for Caribbean