Tropical Storm Rafael gains steam, churns toward Jamaica, Cuba
Havana, Cuba Reuters Tropical Storm Rafael gained steam late on Monday as it churned northward toward Cuba, which is still struggling to recover from a nationwide blackout and hurricane two weeks ago. The US National Hurricane Center said Rafael would see “steady or rapid intensification” before plowing across western Cuba with maximum predicted winds of […]
Jamaica declares southern state of emergency after Sunday night killings
Kingston, Jamaica Reuters Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in the Caribbean nation’s southern Clarendon parish after eight people were killed in separate gun attacks on Sunday night, including a seven-year-old boy. “This is an opportunity for the government to mobilise fully to have a very serious focus on […]
Caribbean braces for economic punch after season’s deadly first hurricane
Reuters Leaders across the Caribbean were still tallying the financial toll wrought by the earliest Atlantic storm on record to intensify to the maximum Category 5 level, after it left a trail of destruction on Jamaica and islands of the eastern Caribbean. “There is no doubt this disaster will have a major impact on Grenada’s […]
Storm Beryl kills three in Texas, knocks out power
Reuters Tropical Storm Beryl brought howling winds and torrential rain to south-east Texas on Monday, killing at least three people, flooding highways, closing oil ports, canceling more than 1,000 flights and knocking out power to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses. Beryl, the season’s earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, weakened from a hurricane […]
Hurricane Beryl passes over Caymans, heads for top Mexico resorts leaving widespread destruction
Updated: 12:30pm Kingston, Jamaica Reuters Hurricane Beryl strengthened to a Category 3 storm on Thursday evening as it zeroed in on Mexico’s top tourist resorts after leaving behind a deadly trail of destruction across several Caribbean islands over the past few days. Beryl, packing maximum winds of 185 kph, was on a path to strike […]
Hurricane Beryl strikes Jamaica as death toll creeps up, destruction widespread
Kingston, Jamaica/Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Hurricane Beryl churned menacingly over Jamaica on Wednesday afternoon, after uprooting trees, ripping off roofs and destroying farms as it forged a destructive, water-soaked path across smaller Caribbean islands over the past couple days. The death toll from the powerful Category 4 hurricane rose to at least nine, but it is […]
Deadly Hurricane Beryl churns toward Jamaica, causes “immense destruction”
Kingston, Jamaica Reuters Hurricane Beryl barrelled toward Jamaica as a powerful Category 4 storm on Tuesday after battering smaller islands in the eastern Caribbean, and scientists cited human-caused climate change as the likely culprit for the storm’s rapid strengthening. The unusually early hurricane felled power lines and unleashed flash floods. It has so far claimed […]
Kenyan police to arrive in Haiti this week, US State Department says
Nairobi, Kenya Reuters The first Kenyan police officers assigned to tackle rampant gang violence in Haiti are leaving Kenya on Tuesday and are set to arrive this week, the US State Department said on Monday. “We hope to see further measurable improvements in security, particularly with respect to access to humanitarian aid and core economic […]
Haiti police to head security mission set to deploy by end of May, transition council says
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Haiti’s national police force will take charge of a much-awaited UN-backed security mission set to launch by the end of this month, Haiti’s transition council said on Tuesday. Police will oversee the force, meant to wrest back control over large swathes of Haiti from gangs, and will make decisions on its “makeup, […]
Panic in Haiti’s capital as wild shooting fills streets
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Panic set in around downtown Port-au-Prince on Monday as wild shooting filled the streets of Haiti’s capital, with heavy gunfire approaching the national palace. Reuters saw civilians rush to escape gunfire in the capital, where rival gangs are vying for control of turf while the state remains largely absent, three weeks after […]