TROPICAL STORM EMILY - THIS MORNING

It was a quiet night here in Port-au-Prince last night. The temperature is cooler and comfortable. We had a little bit of rain at around 4:30pm yesterday afternoon but no storms through the evening. It is breezy this morning with comfortable temperatures. We are praying there won't be much rain here in Port-au-Prince and also that people are cautious in the regions that get heavy rainfall.
Karen




SITUATION IN HAITI THIS MORNING
(Haiti Libre) -

This Thursday at 7:00 am, the center of Tropical Storm Emily was located to 17.1 degrees north and 78.8 degrees West. It is 169 km South East of Port au Prince (105 miles) with sustained winds (maximum) of 85 km/h (50 mph). Emily is currently stationary. The centre of Emily is near the southern coast of Haiti. Last night, Emily was nearly stationary with a movement of 7km/h to 11km/h. It was following a west northwest trajectory.

The National Meteorological Center (CNM) informs that Emily is able to produce between 150 to 250 millimeters of rain on the plains of the Dominican Republic and Haiti with excessive rainfall.

Following the current trajectory, Emily is located at:

169 km (105 mi) of Port-au-Prince
148 km (92 mi) of Jacmel
233 km (145 mi) of the Island of the Gonâve
240 km (149 mi) of Les Cayes
299 km (186 mi) of Jérémie

In the Miragoane region, residents of several vulnerable neighborhoods chose to evacuate to home of friends or family members. About 3-4am this morning, heavy rain and small gusts of wind were felt in Jacmel and other communes of the South East.

Currently there is moderate rainfall and light winds in Jacmel. The Electricity of Haiti has decided to cut electricity to Jacmel. About 5 am the first gusts were recorded in Les Cayes. More than 1,200 were evacuated from the downtown of Jérémie. More information to follow during the day.

This morning the SPGRD in conjunction with the National Meteorological Centre and the National Civil Aviation, banned until further notice, all internal flights across the country. Cabotage operations are prohibited on the south coast of Haiti and also in the Gulf of Gonave until further notice.

The Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti (SEMANAH) reports that sailors and fishermen have complied with the orders of prohibition to take to the sea in the Southeast.

ARTICLE - EMILY TAKES AIM

TROPICAL STORM EMILY TAKES AIM AT VULNERABE HAITI
(Reuters) - By Joseph Guyler-Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE - Tropical Storm Emily took aim at Haiti on Wednesday, threatening to add to the misery of a chronically poor nation struggling to recover from last year's devastating earthquake.

Emily was about 60 miles southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic, near its border with Haiti, at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm, which had already unleashed rain over Haiti, was packing sustained winds of 50 miles per hour and its center was due to pass over southwest Haiti early on Thursday morning and then over extreme eastern Cuba Thursday night.

About 600,000 Haitians are still living under makeshift tents and tarpaulins following the January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people and shattered the capital, Port-au-Prince.

"When there is ordinary rain we can't stay here because water is running through the tents and no one can sleep," said Wideline Azemar, a 42-year-old mother of four who lives under a tarpaulin in a squalid camp for homeless quake survivors in Port-au-Prince.

"Now they're talking about a storm with a lot of wind and rain. I really don't know what to do ... . Only God knows what he will do for us," she said.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Emily could dump as much as 20 inches of rain on parts of Hispaniola, the Caribbean island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Haiti is especially vulnerable to the threat of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides because of what experts describe as its near-total deforestation.

GOVERNMENT IN TURMOIL

Emily was closing in on Haiti less than 24 hours after lawmakers rejected Haitian President Michel Martelly's new choice for prime minister, blocking his efforts to install a government and move ahead with the task of rebuilding the quake-shattered country.

It was the second rejection of Martelly's choice for prime minister in less than two months and a serious blow to the leadership of the former pop star, who was elected in March on promises to lift up the poorest country in the Americas.

"They took a political vote," Martelly told Reuters on Wednesday, as he headed into a meeting on storm preparations with Haitian Civil Protection officials. "It's the country that they are holding back," he said angrily.

His supporters had argued unsuccessfully in parliament on Tuesday that preparations for potential disasters like hurricanes were among the leading reasons he urgently needed to put a government in place.

Pressing tasks in Haiti also include fighting a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 6,000 people since October and could be exacerbated by flooding and contamination of food and water supplies.

Emily, the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, posed no apparent threat to oil and gas production facilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. But if it survives its trek across the high terrain of Hispaniola, the National Hurricane Center said weather conditions appeared to support intensification later this week.

Tracking forecasts have shown Emily posing an uncertain threat as it approaches the southeast U.S. coast, including Florida and the Carolinas, by sometime late on Friday or early Saturday.

But in its 5 p.m. EDT advisory, the National Hurricane Center said "the threat to the southeastern United States will increase" if the storm failed to start taking a northwest turn.

Emily could strengthen into a low-level Category 1 hurricane on Monday, when it is projected to start moving out over the open Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said.

(Writing by Tom Brown; Editing by Xavier Briand)

photos - camp woodeden - ontario - part 1

I came back to Haiti just in time for Tropical Storm Emily! It was a nice visit at my family's home in London, Ontario, Canada. The weather was pretty much the same temperature as here in Haiti! While I was in Canada I went with my sister and nephew John to bring him to Camp Woodeden, which is sponsored by Easter Seals

This is a camp where Future Leaders are at play.

The Camp Woodeden totem pole marks the spot!

The camp counselors came to each vehicle that entered to welcome the children as they drove in.

Camp Woodeden is one of 2 camps in Ontario specifically designed for children with disabilities. John loves going to camp!

photos - camp woodeden - ontario - part 2

The Easter Seals sponsor this camp. This organization is great! If you are looking to financially support an organization this is definitely one that helps out. The first building we visited was the registration building.

Inside is also a cafeteria. The entire camp was super clean!

I bought an Easter Seals t-shirt to take home to Haiti as a souvenir

We then headed up the walk to the dormitory building.

This building too was well designed.

photos - camp woodeden - ontario - part 3

Inside the building everything was handicapped accessible

This PVC bath chair/comode is made of PVC! This could easily be duplicated here in Haiti

This above ground jungle gym is handicapped accessible. I couldn't believe it. Wheelchairs are raised up to the "pole-tops" by a lift system and then the fun begins! We were there on registration day so there were no activities going on at the time.

There are a couple of outdoor pavilions onsite for picnics and barbecues.

There is also a pool! The pool is John's favorite.

photos - camp woodeden - ontario - part 4

There is also a cement sledge hockey rink.

From when the children first arrive they are surrounded with attention and care! It is a great environment.

People come from all over the country to help out at this special camp.

There were some good inspirational posters on the walls. This one reads: "You can do it " - Build what you can, with what you have, from where you are.

Another reads: "Courage to succeed" - Courage means taking a chance, in spite of your fears

photos - camp woodeden - ontario - part 5

"Together we can!" - Working together as a team means winning together as a team

"Be strong" - Always choose truth over popularity

"Liberty" - This is what Camp Woodeden is designed for. Giving children with disabilities the liberty to experience activities that they otherwise wouldn't be able to do.

"Take Responsibility" - If it is to be ... it is up to me

"Unleashed" - This poster could also apply for sledge hockey! Games with special equipent allowing the handicapped to participate in sports activities.