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FAIR USE FOR DISCUSSION & EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1148554/1/.html

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Hurricane Irene Heads For Haiti

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SANTO DOMINGO: Hurricane Irene barrelled toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Monday, after forcing Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet and Richard Branson's relatives to flee the British tycoon's Caribbean island home.


Winslet carried Branson's 90-year-old mother Eve out of The Great House on Necker Island, a territory in the British Virgin Islands that the entrepreneur bought in the early 1980s, as a blaze sparked by lightning took hold in the early morning hours.


"She swept her up into her arms and got them out of the house as fast as possible," Branson, who heads the Virgin Group conglomerate, told Britain's ITV News.


The actress said, according to Branson, "it's like being in a film set where you're waiting for the words 'cut' but they just don't come."


All escaped unharmed.


Irene reached hurricane strength as it passed over Puerto Rico in the early morning hours, and at 1800 GMT packed winds of 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre said.


In Puerto Rico, the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season unleashed torrential rains and powerful gusts that downed trees and caused flooding in residential areas, leaving 800,000 people without electricity, 118,000 without water and over 770 others in shelters.


San Juan, the capital of the densely populated US possession, was within 40 kilometres (25 miles) of the eye of the category one hurricane.


Classes were suspended and businesses shuttered in some areas, according to Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno, who announced a state of emergency to mobilise aid from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency.


FEMA said it was "closely monitoring" Irene, which could hit the US coast later in the week as a category two hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale.


"It's critical that you take this storm seriously and take steps now to prepare your families, homes and businesses," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said in a statement.


Irene was located about 113 kilometres (70 miles) northeast of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, on a track to pass just north of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, later Monday.


It was forecast to next head near or over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Tuesday, before passing near the Central Bahamas early Wednesday.


Irene was expected to strengthen further as it moves west-northwest at around 21 kilometres (13 miles) an hour, according to the NHC.


A hurricane warning was in effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, an impoverished country that was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake in January 2010 that killed an estimated 225,000 people, and then afflicted by a cholera epidemic.


All of Haiti was under a tropical storm warning and authorities issued a red alert.


"Preventative measures are being taken to evacuate people in danger," Haiti meteorological service chief Ronald Semelfort told AFP.


Haiti dodged a weather disaster earlier this month when it was brushed by Tropical Storm Emily, but Irene revived fears for the 300,000 people still living in makeshift camps.


The European Union's humanitarian aid service announced $5.5 million to fund disaster preparation programs to benefit over a million Haitians, many of whom continue to live in shelters more than 1.5 years after the devastating 2010 earthquake.


The Dominican Republic set up 2,364 shelters as it braced for Irene, and ordered that vulnerable areas be evacuated and classes be suspended.


A red alert -- the highest -- was issued for 23 provinces and the capital, while the other eight provinces were placed under yellow, or intermediate alert.


"We are ready for the storm and are taking our precautions," said presidential spokesman Rafael Nunez.


The government gave instructions for over two million food rations to be distributed to soup kitchens, and ordered that small and medium vessels remain in port.


The storm was expected to dump up an additional five to 10 centimetres (two to four inches) of rain across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with up to 15 centimetres (six inches) over most of northern Hispaniola and up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) over higher terrain.


Up to 25 centimetres of rainfall were also expected in the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.


"These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in areas of steep terrain," the US centre said.


A storm surge accompanied by "large and dangerous waves" was also forecast to raise water levels by up to 1.2 meters (four feet) above normal tide levels along the Dominican coast, and up to 1.8 meters (six feet) over the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.


Further south, Harvey dissipated over the Sierra Madre mountain range in Mexico after driving across southern Mexico with high winds and rain in tow, and striking the coast of Belize on Saturday and lashing Guatemala as a tropical storm.


But remnants of the storm still posed a threat of flash floods and mudslides in some areas.

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Grace,
We are keeping on eye on it where I live too. I've been through Hurricanes before, but we haven't had any in our area of Florida for a few years. Keep my family in your prayers as Irene possibly moves through central Florida.

Kevin

i pray all of you well and safe
even in such uncertain times

Thank you Grace. It looks now like the hurricane will keep east of Florida, which is good for us. North Carolina might be where it will make landfall.

Kevin

thats great, kevin