Tropical Storm Noel has brought into stark relief the fact that the dangers a storm poses are not only measured by the strength of its sustained winds.
Because, even though not quite a hurricane (with maximum winds at only 50 – 60 mph compared to 74 mph for a Cat.1 hurricane), Noel has left a trail of death and destruction on Hispaniola and Cuba that we in the Caribbean have not seen since Tropical Storm Jeane left over 2000 dead in 2004.
In fact, reports are that Noel has killed 107 people (at last count), damaged over 12,000 homes, and displaced at least 50,000 natives on these two islands alone.
I don’t even know how I’m alive….I lost everything. The only thing that I could save was the clothes I was wearing. [Monica Segura, 28, who was forced to abandon her home in the Dominican town of Barahona]
On a more personal note, Noel is now passing through the islands of my homeland, The Bahamas, and is causing antediluvian floods along the way. Thankfully our infrastructure is such that we should be able to sustain its wrath with minimal or no loss of life. But there’s bound to be widespread property damage and power outages for days….
Accordingly, it is doubtful that schools, businesses and government offices will resume normal operations before Monday.
Of course I’m acutely aware that the concern many of you have for the welfare of my people is far outweighed by the interest you have in the 30 October inquest into the death of Anna Nicole Smith’s son, Daniel. Therefore, I don’t mind informing you that the inquest will reconvene in Nassau on 19 November.
Nevertheless, I beg you to donate as much as you can to aid those most affected:
Food For The Poor: http://www.foodforthepoor.org/ (or by phone: 800-487-1158)
(And please request that your donations go to aid survivors in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.)
NOTE: I am mindful that floods now burying the swampy Gulf coast of Mexico have killed hundreds, destroyed thousands of homes, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Mexicans. Alas, because this tragedy is unfolding in a part of the country where few tourists dare to tread, it’s receiving relatively little media coverage compared to the attention being paid to Noel’s impact on the Caribbean.
Nevertheless, my prayers go out those Mexicans affected.
Related Articles:
A tale of two inquests: Diana and Daniel…
Tropical Storm Noel
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