Haiti in danger of deadly floods from Ernesto
August 26, 2006
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Haiti in danger of deadly floods from Ernesto

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Tropical Storm Ernesto 1215 HT Saturday Aug 26
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from bouy/ship locations near Ernesto

Tropical Storm Ernesto composite view
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Haiti and the Dominican Republic are now being battered by heavy rains that will cause deadly flash floods and mudslides. Rain is expected to dump on the higher terrains " ...with possible isolated maximum amounts of up to 20 inches..." according to the National Hurricane Center of the NOAA. Elsewhere the forecast is that 8-12 inches will fall in regions where hundreds had died shortly after the U.S.-led coup d'État of February 29, 2004. The previous forecast, earlier today, was predicting 4-6 inches.

Tropical Storm Ernesto surprised the forecasters by taking a sharp turn to the north. The official forecast is that Ernesto will pass by Jamaica tomorrow afternoon, but it's likely that the storm will continue northwest across the island and pass over Port au Prince in the early morning. Haiti's civil defense is not ready for a storm event like this after two years of brutal repression where the country's infrastructure was neglected by the coup government, USAID and the UN.

The Government of Haiti did try to get the word out over radio to the remote regions to the south. The next official advisory by National Hurricane Center is expected at 1100 PM EST

For latest official alerts, forecasts and maps use the NOAA Storm Ernesto tracker