This Sunday at 11:00 am, the center of the hurricane Tomas, was located, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) west of St. Lucia and about 550 kilometers (345 miles ) south-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tomas moves at a speed of 15 km / h (9 mph).

According to forecasters, the overall trajectory is expected to continue heading west northwest over the next two days. After having ravaged the island of St. Vincent: winds, heavy rain, over 100 houses destroyed, trees uprooted, several wounded, and caused substantial damage to Barbados (power lines torn, floods...) Tomas is weakened from Category 2 (winds 154 to 177 km / h / 96 to 110 mph) to Category 1 (winds from 119 to 153 km / h / 74 to 95 mph). Tomas could still lose some strength Monday and Tuesday.

However, maps and models, show that Hurricane Tomas, could again escalate and return to Category 2 Wednesday, before going back to North towards Haiti where Tomas could become an hurricane Category 3 with winds from 178 to 209 km/h (111 to 130 mi/h) and cause considerable damage in Haiti which faces currently with an cholera epidemic.

Forecast models predict that the hurricane center in 67 hours, should be within 140 km (85 miles) of Les Cayes and 220km (132 miles) from the capital Port-au-Prince. Note that winds equivalent to a strong tropical storm can be felt up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) from the center of the hurricane.

We follow, Tomas carefully and we will keep you informed of developments as soon as the situation requires. It goes without saying that the Hurricane cocktail + cholera is the last thing Haiti needs, the consequences in terms of epidemic may be more dramatic for the country according to cholera specialists on the ground.

S/ HaitiLibre