Monday, August 18, 2008

Deadly tropical storm ravages Caribbean

Tropical Storm Fay is en route to Florida and may hit the state with hurricane force winds, but not without having unleashed itself across the Caribbean.

Nearly sixty people are confirmed dead after the storm pelted several countries with heavy rains and winds:

In Haiti, a bus plunged into a river swollen by rain from Fay, killing about 30 people, officials said.

"It overturned as it was crossing a bridge on the river Glace," Silvera Guillaume, a local civil protection coordinator, said.

In the Dominican Republic, more than 2,000 people were evacuated to shelters as the storm felled trees, damaged hundreds of homes and damaged power lines, cutting supplies to more than 15,000 homes, according to reports.

Five others were killed in Haiti and the Dominican Republic in flood-related accidents

Reports have mentioned that there are no deaths in Cuba though there has been some material damage and flooding. Nevertheless, the risk exists that one foot of rain could fall on the island along with warnings of flash floods and mudslides.

Though numerous oil rigs in the Caribbean were evacuated as a safety precaution, the storm appeared to have avoided causing major damage to oil platforms.

Image- Al Jazeera English (“Roads were flooded as Fay lashed the Dominican Republic [EPA]")

Sources- AFP, BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Reuters, Reuters UK, Bloomberg


No comments: