Evacuation urged as Tropical Storm Emily heads for Haiti
Haitian officials have urged evacuations with Tropical Storm Emily expected to hit on Wednesday evening. Emily was heading for the island of Hispaniola, which Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, at 22 kilometres per hour.
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Forecasters warned that the storm could become a category one hurricane after passing over Dominican Republic and the US territory of Puerto Rico. It will head for the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos on Thursday.
Emily is expected to drop 10-15 centimetres of rain on Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, although 25 centimetres are possible in a few areas, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre.
Officials have warned people to evacuate “vulnerable locations”, amid fears that flash floods could devastate some of the refugee camps have housed thousands of people since the 2010 earthquake.
A tropical storm watch is in force for the US Virgin Islands, the south-east Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
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