PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Isaac strengthened yesterday as its lashing rains took aim at flood-prone Haiti, but it was not expected to become a hurricane until it barreled into the Gulf of Mexico early next week.
On its current path, forecasters said Isaac would hit Cuba and the southern tip of Florida before making landfall anywhere from the Florida Panhandle in the northwestern part of the state to Alabama and as far west as New Orleans.
Forecasters put the entire coast of south Florida under tropical storm watch as of 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) yesterday.
But the biggest immediate concern was heavily deforested Haiti, where the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the full force of the storm was expected to be felt by last evening.
Isaac comes as Republicans gather in Tampa, on Florida’s central Gulf coast, for Monday’s start of their national convention ahead of the November presidential election.
The convention is still due to proceed as planned but Gulf of Mexico operators began shutting down offshore oil and gas rigs on Friday ahead of the storm.
Yesterday afternoon torrential rains began falling on the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Life-threatening flash-floods and mudslides, which are common in Haiti, could add to the misery of about 350,000 people still living in tent cities and camps after the January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 250,000 people.
The NHC said Isaac was centered about 100 miles (160 km)south-southeast of the seaside Haitian capital Port-au-Prince late Friday afternoon, packing top sustained winds of 65 miles (100 km) per hour.
The storm was moving northwest at 16 mph (26 kph) and it was expected to dump between 8 and 12 inches (20 to 30.5 cm) of rain over parts of Haiti, with total accumulations of up to 20 inches (51 cm) in some areas.
The storm prompted Haitian President Michel Martelly to announce on Thursday night that he was cancelling a planned trip to Japan.
“I know your worries,” Martelly said in an address to the nation. “I also know we’re a strong people.”
About 3,000 volunteers from the government’s Civil Protection office have been dispatched across Haiti, to warn people about flood and landslide risks, and about 1,250 shelters — schools, churches or other community buildings — have opened their doors to house people seeking refuge from the storm.
