Tropical storm

Cyclone Yasa landfall in Fiji yesterday, carrying destructive winds of up to 345km/h, heavy rain and storm swells, has flattened homes and left major devastation to roads, and vegetation. More than 600,000 people in the South Pacific island nation are now affected, thousands of which are already in evacuation centers as the tropical storm disrupted access to essential utilities including water supply and sanitation facilities, as well as food.

Thousands of people living in camps in Haiti remain at risk from flooding and disease, according to international aid agency Oxfam, despite the Caribbean island appearing to have avoided the worst of tropical storm Isaac.

Oxfam teams in Haiti are working to prepare communities to help avoid damage from Tropical Storm Isaac, which is expected to hit the country today (Friday 24 August), and are also preparing contingency stocks of aid and emergency response teams.

In 2008, four hurricanes and tropical storms (Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike) hit the mountainous Caribbean island of Haiti.