Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Port-au-Prince (Agenzia Fides) – Hurricane Tomas has caused at least three deaths and severe flooding in several towns in western Haiti. The number of victims could rise due to the precarious living conditions of Haitians after the January 12th earthquake that killed at least 250,000 people, and also because of the cholera epidemic, which is on the rise. Civil Protection in Haiti has evacuated part of the 1.3 million Haitians living in camps in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, many of whom live in the gardens of the Government House, at the center of the city.
While experts predict that Tomas will gain strength in the coming hours, UN sources said that among the consequences of the hurricane there will be a worsening of the situation of cholera. According to recent estimates, cholera has killed 442 Haitians and 6,700 have been infected. The National Hurricane Center of the United States announced that Tomas was classified as a Category 1 hurricane on the scale that reaches up to Level 5. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 06/11/2010)
