: Hurricane Elsa Falls Back to Tropical Storm While Racing Toward Haiti #WorldNEWS PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hurricane Elsa fell back to tropical storm force as it raced toward Haiti and the Dominican

Hurricane Elsa Falls Back to Tropical Storm While Racing Toward Haiti #WorldNEWS
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hurricane Elsa fell back to tropical storm force as it raced toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Saturday, but it still threatened to unleash flooding and landslides before taking aim at Cuba and Florida.
The storm was located about 40 miles (70 kilometers) south of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 29 mph (46 kph). It had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) as the tropical storm, which had been a Category 1 hurricane earlier on Saturday, weakened during its approach to Hispaniola and Cuba according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
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The long-term forecast track showed it heading toward Florida as a tropical storm by Tuesday morning, but some models would carry it into the Gulf or up the Atlantic Coast.
In Haiti, authorities used social media to alert people about the storm and urged them to evacuate if they lived near water or mountain flanks.
“The whole country is threatened,” the Civil Protection Agency said in a statement. “Make every effort to escape before it’s too late. ”
Haiti is especially vulnerable to floods and landslides because of widespread erosion and deforestation. In addition, a recent spike in gang violence has forced thousands of people to flee from their homes, so the civil protection agency is running low on basic items including food and water, director Jerry Chandler told The Associated Press.
“Its been three weeks that weve been supporting families who are running away from gang violence,” he said. “We are working at renewing our stocks, but the biggest problem is logistics. ”
He said officials are still trying to figure out how to deliver supplies to Haitis southern region, which is bracing for Elsas impact.
Meanwhile, people were buying water and food as the storm approached.
“Im protecting myself the best that I can. Civil protection is not going to do that for me,” said Darlene Jean-Pierre, 35, as she bought six jugs of water along with vegetables and fruit. “I have other worries about the street I have to worry about gangs fighting. In addition to this, we have a hurricane. I dont know what kind of catastrophe this is going to cause.
A hurricane warning remains in effect from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince to Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic. A hurricane watch was issued for the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba. Some of those provinces have reported a high number of COVID-19 infections, raising concerns that the storm could force large groups of people to seek shelter together.