Quake-Ravished Haiti & Dominican Republic Brace for Tropical Storm Emily to Make Landfall

As much as I worry about Jamaica, my birthplace, being hit by a devastating hurricane, I am more concerned for Haiti because of its continuing economic woes and widespread poverty. Here's the latest news on Tropical Storm Emily that seems to be gaining strength as it heads towards Hispaniola.

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians still living in makeshift camps following last year's devastating earthquakes are braced for heavy rain and winds as tropical storm Emily approaches.

Forecasters predict the storm will make landfall on Haiti's southern peninsula, bringing the threat of mudslides and flash floods. More than 600,000 people still live without shelter after the earthquake in January 2010, which killed at least 46,000.

avid Preux, head of mission for the International Organisation for Migration in the southern city of Jacmel, said that he expected conditions to worsen during the night: "The problem is when people wait until the last minute to evacuate."

The storm's forward motion slowed on Wednesday night and it appeared likely to skirt the southern tip of the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Emily had maximum sustained winds of 50mph (80kph). Source

Please keep the Haitian people in your thoughts and prayers as they wait for this storm to make landfall. What isn't devastating to one country, can be to Haiti because of the widespread deforestation on the island and the fact that it hasn't recovered from that devastating earthquake.

Path of TS Emily (NOAA)