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Haiti in the path of Tropical Storm Isaac
The projected path of Tropical Storm Isaac. IMAGE/National Hurricane Center
Tropical Storm Isaac strengthened over the Caribbean on Wednesday, threatening to slam into Haiti — still reeling from a devastating 2010 earthquake, and Cuba, forecasters said.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center projected that Isaac would become a hurricane on Thursday and make landfall early Saturday near the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in southern Cuba.
A hurricane watch has been issued for all of Haiti, often hit by disastrous floods and mudslides, as well as for Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra, and the US and British Virgin Islands.
The storm, packing gusts of up to 72 kilometers (45 miles) per hour, was nearing the coast of Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the National Hurricane Center said in its 0000 GMT (7pm EST) bulletin.
Isaac was expected to dump up to 51 centimeters (20 inches) of rain over Hispaniola, spelling trouble for the 400,000 Haitians still huddled in makeshift settlements more than two years after the nation’s disastrous earthquake.
“These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides,” the National Hurricane Center warned, noting that Isaac was about 105 kilometers (65 miles) southwest of Guadeloupe and moving westward at 34 kilometers (21 miles) per hour.
The storm forced the US military at Guantanamo to delay hearings for the five alleged plotters of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Commanders at the base have made hurricane preparations.
