Aid workers in Haiti say a storm heading toward the island could worsen a cholera outbreak that is sickening thousands of people and heap more misery on those living in tent villages since the earthquake that struck nearly 10 months ago.
More than a million Haitians live under tarps and tents in camps after the Jan. 12 quake destroyed the capital, Port-au-Prince. And in the past two weeks, the government and aid groups strained to halt a cholera outbreak that has killed 337 people and sickened more than 4,700 others.
"We are maxed out," said Julie Schindall, spokeswoman for Oxfam, an aid organization that builds clean water and sanitation systems in Haiti. "We don't have enough resources to launch a third response."
Tropical Storm Tomas had winds of 45 mph late Wednesday, but it could strengthen into a hurricane before it strikes Haiti, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Forecasters say Tomas could hit the island early Friday.
Tomas has already killed best replica watchesat least 14 people in the Caribbean.
Even if Tomas remains weak or skirts Port-au-Prince, aid workers worry that its heavy rains could destroy roads, buildings and hospitals already in poor condition, said Imogen Wall, spokeswoman for the United Nation's humanitarian office.
"Haiti is so fragile," Wall said. "A lot of rain in some places can cause huge problems. It's fairly bleak all around."
Hurricane Center forecasters say the storm could drench Haiti with up to 15 inches of rain, which could worsen the cholera outbreak as contaminated water spreads, said Jon Andrus, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization.
The cholera epidemic that struck the Artibonite region north of Port-au-Prince pushed aid workers in the early stage of earthquake reconstruction to their limits.
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Subject: Storm threatens fragile Haiti 
Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:12 pm
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