Ernesto grew into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season
Sunday and threatened deforested Haiti with floods and mudslides as
it headed for the Gulf of Mexico a year after Hurricane Katrina
devastated New Orleans.
Cuba issued a hurricane warning for its eastern provinces and
residents were told to prepare for the approaching storm, which had
120 kph winds as it swept through the Caribbean Sea just off the
south coast of Haiti.
Forecasters said Ernesto could become a Category 2 hurricane
with 158 kph winds in the Gulf, home to a quarter of US oil and gas
production, and its most likely path would take it ashore on
Florida's west coast on Thursday.
The storm promised more misery for Florida, which has endured
eight hurricanes in the past two years.
The hurricane was about 185 kilometers southwest of the Haitian
capital, Port-au-Prince, at 11 AM (15:00 GMT) Sunday. It was moving
northwest at about 15 kph and was expected to be near the
southeastern coast of Cuba on Monday morning.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the southern coast of
Haiti. Forecasters said up to 30 centimeters of rain and even up to
50 centimeters in isolated areas could fall on the island of
Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has been virtually
stripped of trees in recent decades, making it vulnerable to deadly
floods. Tropical Storm Jeanne killed about 3,000 people two years
ago when its rains triggered mudslides in and around the city of
Gonaives.
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The Miami-based hurricane centre said Ernesto could become a
Category 2 hurricane before it reaches the coast of Cuba on Monday.
A Category 2 storm has top sustained winds from 55 to 177 kph and
can cause moderate damage.
It was likely to weaken over Cuba and regroup after it emerges
off the northern coast of the island, forecasters said. The
official intensity forecast had Ernesto as a Category 2 hurricane
with sustained winds near 160 kph in the Gulf.
"However, Ernesto could approach Category 3 status prior to the
projected landfall in western Florida," the hurricane center said
in a statement.
Forecasters also shifted Ernesto's most likely track slightly to
the east. That path would see it strike the US coast at Tampa on
Thursday morning and emerge in the Atlantic Ocean off the east
coast early on Friday.
(China Daily August 28, 2006)
