Hurricane Tomas Drenches Haiti Camp Dwellers

Friday morning has arrived, and unfortunately the forecasts weren't too far out.  Tomas has strengthened to hurricane force once more, and is travelling only slightly to the west of Tuesday's forecast track. According to Reuters:

A Jan. 12 quake in Haiti killed more than a quarter of a million people in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation. About 1.3 million survivors still live in hundreds of makeshift tent camps crammed into open spaces in the wrecked capital Port-au-Prince.

Strengthening Tropical Storm Tomas drenched Haiti on Thursday, threatening fragile, crowded earthquake survivors' camps in the poor Caribbean country that is also reeling from a deadly cholera epidemic.

Haitian President René Préval went on national radio to urge citizens to take precautions and follow evacuation recommendations. "Protect your lives," he said.

Here is the current National Hurricane Center forecast for Tomas:

Forecast track of Hurricane Tomas - Courtesy of the NOAA

The red areas on the map show where a hurricane warning is currently in force, and as you can see that includes virtually all of Haiti.