Haiti scared as Storm Isaac gathers strength

PanARMENIAN.Net - Haiti braced for a cruel new battering as Tropical Storm Isaac swept across the Caribbean toward the shattered island, gathering strength and threatening to reach hurricane force, AFP reports.

About 400,000 residents of the western hemisphere's poorest country were dangerously exposed to Isaac's gathering fury in makeshift squatter camps, two years after an earthquake destroyed the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

"They remain amongst the most vulnerable, should the storm hit the city," said Jean-Claude Mukadi, Haiti national director for humanitarian group World Vision. "Without a stable sanitation system or permanent housing, heavy rain and wind can create much larger problems like disease from water contamination."

Residents in the neighboring Dominican Republic and on nearby Puerto Rico rushed to erect defenses against the expected wind and rain, set to sweep on to Cuba and the southern United States by the weekend.

"Isaac could become a hurricane as it nears Haiti on Friday, Aug 24... Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

At 0000 GMT, Isaac was "a little stronger," with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers (45 miles) per hour as it headed west-northwest at 26 kilometers per hour, according to the NHC.

Isaac was centered about 340 kilometers southeast of Santo Domingo.

The NHC said the eye of the storm would approach the Dominican Republic's southern coast later Thursday, move near or over that area and Haiti on Friday before nearing Cuba, home to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

When it makes landfall on Hispaniola, the island divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Isaac is expected to dump up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain on hillsides already scoured by soil erosion.

Classes were canceled and hospitals boosted their staff levels in at-risk areas of the Dominican Republic. Authorities have urged locals to prepare to face floods, rising waters and mudslides due to heavy rains.