After undergoing a outbreak of cholera that killed over 300 and sickened over 4000, Haiti has another menace: Tomas. Tomas struck the Lesser Antilles as a hurricane, causing considerable damage and some loss of life. Now Tomas is a disorganized, slow-moving tropical depression on a collision course with Haiti. Tomas is expected to reform and strengthen, striking Haiti as a category I hurricane sometime early Saturday. With hundreds of thousands living in tents and under tarps, even sustained winds of 40 knots would be destructive enough (category I hurricanes have sustained winds greater than 70 knots). The greatest danger is heavy rain as Haiti is particularly susceptible to flooding and landslides. Further, many Haitians living in open-air camps could be swept away by quick-moving waters in flooded causeways and ditches. Personally, we live in a reinforced concrete house that is safe in hurricanes (but not earthquakes!!) and which is situated on high ground. Pray that Tomas will be a weak and quick moving storm that will not add to the suffering of the Haitian people. Pray that we also would be able to pull off our activities next week (we have a once-every-five-years strategy planning session for our mission with seven international participants flying in on Sunday).
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