Jamaica and Haiti continue to encourage residents in vulnerable areas to evacuate as the Caribbean begins to get hit by powerful Hurricane Matthew.
Haiti's interior minister Francois Anick Joseph said officials are “very worried” by the situation, adding that 1,300 shelters had been set up to assist hundreds of thousands of people.
“We want everybody to know that it is real,” he said.
Still, almost 2,000 people refuse to leave their homes and the minister said the government is ready to use force if needed. Haiti has been evacuating residents from exposed sandy islands off the southern coast.
Matthew is the strongest hurricane over the Atlantic Ocean since Felix in 2007. With maximum sustained winds of 230 kilometers per hour and higher gusts, Matthew is expected to remain a powerful storm while creating chaos on parts of the Caribbean during the next few days.
Hundreds of people had to be airlifted out of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay as Matthew heads toward Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
The Navy says people staying at the base and military detention center on the eastern end of the island of Cuba are being told to take shelter, and a mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel is under way. That includes 700 family members of military personnel.
Scores of prisoners are still held at the detention center and about 5,500 people live on the base.
The United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) issued a statement saying officials are prepared to “assist government and communities in the region.” The agency has deployed two disaster response teams to Haiti and Jamaica.
“These disaster experts are actively monitoring the storm's track in real time and communicating with officials in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, and Belize to coordinate relief efforts, if requested,” the statement said.
Emergency relief supplies including shelter materials, blankets, hygiene kits, household items and water purification equipment are available for the communities affected by the storm.
[voanews.com]
3/10/16
Haiti's interior minister Francois Anick Joseph said officials are “very worried” by the situation, adding that 1,300 shelters had been set up to assist hundreds of thousands of people.
“We want everybody to know that it is real,” he said.
Still, almost 2,000 people refuse to leave their homes and the minister said the government is ready to use force if needed. Haiti has been evacuating residents from exposed sandy islands off the southern coast.
Matthew is the strongest hurricane over the Atlantic Ocean since Felix in 2007. With maximum sustained winds of 230 kilometers per hour and higher gusts, Matthew is expected to remain a powerful storm while creating chaos on parts of the Caribbean during the next few days.
Hundreds of people had to be airlifted out of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay as Matthew heads toward Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
The Navy says people staying at the base and military detention center on the eastern end of the island of Cuba are being told to take shelter, and a mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel is under way. That includes 700 family members of military personnel.
Scores of prisoners are still held at the detention center and about 5,500 people live on the base.
The United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) issued a statement saying officials are prepared to “assist government and communities in the region.” The agency has deployed two disaster response teams to Haiti and Jamaica.
“These disaster experts are actively monitoring the storm's track in real time and communicating with officials in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, and Belize to coordinate relief efforts, if requested,” the statement said.
Emergency relief supplies including shelter materials, blankets, hygiene kits, household items and water purification equipment are available for the communities affected by the storm.
[voanews.com]
3/10/16
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
No comments :
Post a Comment
Only News