Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to become a hurricane by the time it reaches residents of several Gulf Coast states in the U.S. Before hitting landfall and affecting areas such as New Orleans, Isaac left behind a path of destruction over the weekend in parts of the Caribbean.
At least twenty-five people died in Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Most of these fatalities occurred in Haiti where civil defense officials claimed that nineteen people died as a result of the storm. The death toll could increase, according to officials, since six people are reported as missing.
Furthermore, rescue workers have not reached parts of the country vulnerable to mudslides and flooding such as “mountain hamlets” in the south. “We are still collecting information,” said George Ngwa, communications chief for the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to the Miami Herald.
The storm affected thousands of Haitians who survived a major 2010 earthquake and are living in tent settlements. As seen in the video below, residents of tent cities in Port-au-Prince tried as best as possible to assess the damage from Isaac:
“The Red Cross is particularly concerned with those who remain in camps, and particularly pregnant women, children, people who have disabilities and older people, who are hugely at risk,” said a spokeswoman for the humanitarian group to NBC News.
At least two people died in the Dominican Republic as a result of Isaac while the storm caused major damage to several buildings on the eastern tip of Cuba.
Video Source– YouTube via Al Jazeera English
Online Sources – ABC News, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Miami Herald, MSNBC, kxan.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment