VARIOUS: Hurricane Ernesto brushes the Dominican Republic, dumps rain on Haiti and heads for a direct hit on Cuba

Hurricane Ernesto brushed by the Dominican Republic on Sunday (August 27) causing minimal damage as it gathered strength and headed toward Haiti, Cuba and Florida. Heavy rain fell on the capital of Santo Domingo, slowing traffic and causing rivers to rise. Authorities said the centre of the hurricane was far from the Dominican Republic coast, but residents kept a close eye on the weather. "We wait for God to do his will. We don't have anyone to protect us. We live as though we are the only ones who can help ourselves. So, if there is some danger, the first thing we do is collect our children, we collect our elders and leave for some better place," said resident Bernarda Parra. As Ernesto moved slowly through the Caribbean, it dumped rain on flood-prone Haiti and weakened to a tropical storm. Forecasters downgraded Ernesto when its sustained winds slowed from 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour) to less than 60 mph (97 kph) per hour as mountainous terrain in southern Haiti disrupted the storm. But officials in the impoverished Caribbean nation said Ernesto triggered flooding and destroyed at least 13 homes on the island of La Gonave. They were trying to confirm reports the storm killed one person in the port city of Gonaives, where tropical storm flooding killed 3,000 people two years ago. In Port-au-Prince, heavy rain dumped water, flooding streets and marketplaces. The rain continued late into Sunday night and Haitians anxiously awaited reports of mudslides, which often come with heavy rains in the largely deforested country. Ernesto's centre was near the southwestern tip of Haiti, about 150 miles (240 km) west-southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince, at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kph) and was expected to be near the southeastern coast of Cuba on Monday morning. Forecasters said Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, could see up to 20 inches (50 cm) of rain. Emergency supplies were being sent to affected areas, U.N. peacekeepers were being mobilised and about 25 families were being moved from a flood-prone slum in the capital, Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis said. The National Hurricane Center said Ernesto could weaken as it treks across Cuba on Monday (August 28) but it was expected to regain strength and become a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of about 90 mph (145 kph) in the Gulf. As Ernesto disrupted Hispanola, Cubans began preparing for a direct hit. Many Havana residents cleaned the streets to make sure that storm drains were clear in the event of flooding. "We are trying to avoid rains that the hurricane may bring that could impact us and make sure there isn't anything that could obstruct the storm drains, have the streets clean for all storm-related contingencies," said one resident. Cuba, facing its first hurricane in decades without President Fidel Castro at the helm, began evacuating 300,000 people from its eastern provinces and called its fishing fleet to harbor as Ernesto, with 75 mile per hour (120 km per hour) winds, swept through the Caribbean Sea just south of Haiti. A Cuban meteorologist said it was likely the storm would weaken over Cuba. "When there is a hurricane crossing a mountainous zone, a mountainous chain, well of course there is the circulation in the lower levels that is interrupted by the mountain chain and the hurricane loses intensity, but at the same time, the mountain chain can cause intensification of the rains," said the Director of Cuba's Institute of Meteorology, Jose Rubiera. However, forecasters predicted that Ernesto would regroup after it emerges off the north coast of the island, forecasters said. The official intensity forecast had Ernesto as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds near 100 mph (160 kph) in the Gulf. Emergency managers ordered visitors to leave the Keys, the first step of a staged evacuation of the low-lying, 110-mile (177-km) island chain off Florida's southern tip. The Hurricane Center said a tropical storm watch might be required for parts of the Keys later on Sunday. As the storm's track shifted east, New Orleans, still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina's blow last August 29, was farther from the danger zone. But the uncertainty of long-range forecasts had much of Gulf coast, and the U.S. energy industry, on alert. Hurricane Katrina flooded most of historic New Orleans. The storm killed about 1,500 people on the Gulf Coast and caused more than 80 billion US dollars in damage. Oil prices rose on Friday as Ernesto developed. BP Plc, Shell and Conoco all pulled some nonessential personnel from Gulf rigs because of the storm's threat.

ITN Source | August 28, 2006

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