Rumble: Hurricanes Ike and Hanna in Haiti

Alex, a colleague, just came back from a emergency relief mission in Haiti, which was hit hard by Hurricanes Ike and Hanna a couple of weeks ago.

He gave me some astonishing pictures by Logan Abassi, a photographer working for MINUSTAH, the UN peacekeeping forces in Haiti.

The misery these pictures show is devastating. I can't show them all on The Road, but created this slide show. Have a look.

More posts on The Road about Haiti

Pictures courtesy Logan Abassi (MINUSTAH)

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News: Before and after Hurricane Ike

Before:



After:




Warren and Pam Adams lost a house to Hurricane Rita in 2005, so it seems they'd be relieved to learn their new home withstood Hurricane Ike. But not when their house is the only one still standing in their section of Gilchrist, Texas.

Ike's storm surge last week devastated the Bolivar Peninsula town, flattening most of the roughly 200 homes there. The couple's yellow house at the beach -- supported 14 feet off the ground by wooden columns -- was the only house on Gilchrist's Gulf Coast side not to be flattened. (Full)

Pictures courtesy Ray Asgar, Judy Hudspeth (CNN)

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Picture of the day: Hurricane Ike seen from space

Three hurricanes in a row have caused havoc in the Caribbean. A view from space at the awesome size and power of Hurricane Ike.

More Pictures of the day on The Road.

Pictures courtesy yawoot

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News: Monsoon in Asia, Floods in West-Africa and Hurricanes in Central America.

The emergency season has started again.

Floods in India May Displace Millions.
Millions of destitute farmers and their families may be displaced for months after severe floods in northern India wiped out crops and homes, leaving hundreds of villages under several feet of water. (Full)

WFP to feed feed 50,000 flood victims in Nepal
The emergency operation is in response to a Government of Nepal request after monsoon rains caused an embankment of the Saptakoshi River to collapse, flooding thousands of hectares of land and forcing an estimated 50,000 people to flee their homes. (Full)

U.N. fears health crisis from West Africa floods
WHO, the U.N. health agency says severe flooding in West Africa is increasing the risk of deadly cholera and malaria outbreaks in the region. Flooding since July has displaced at least 200,000 people and damaged roads and railway lines across a large area of West Africa, with Benin the hardest-hit. (Full)

Hurricane Gustav floods Haiti, kills 11 and heads toward Cuba
Gustav also dumped torrential rains on southern Haiti, which is prone to devastating floods because its mountainous terrain has been stripped of trees for farming and charcoal. (Full)

Picture courtesy James Giambrone/WFP

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News: Tough hurricane season coming up.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the approaching 2008 Atlantic hurricane season is likely to be above normal, with 16 named storms and up to five major hurricanes.
NOAA attributed the above-average outlook to the lingering affects of La Nina. The agency has urged residents of hurricane-prone areas to be prepared for the season, which begins on June 1 and will run until 30 November. (Full)

Atlantic-born hurricanes threaten the Caribbean, Central America, Southern US and Northern Latin America every year. In 2007, there were 17 named storms, of which hurricanes Dean, Felix and Noel, and tropical storm Olga wrecked the most havoc.

Picture courtesy ThinkQuest NYC

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