To 7am, this Wednesday, the center of the Tropical Storm Emily was located to 16.6 degrees north and 69.0 degrees West. At 413 km South East of Port au Prince (256 miles) with sustained winds (maximum) of 80 km/h (50 mph). Emily is currently moving at 22.5 km/h (14 mph) along a trajectory West and could hit the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the next 24 hours [center will be on Haiti on Thursday 2:00 am according to NOAA, if the speed is maintained], but the disturbance should begin to be felt later this afternoon or tonight.

Following the current trajectory, Emily is located at:

233 km (145 mi) of Santo-Domingo

415 km (258 mi) of Jacmel

439 km (273 mi) of Léogâne

479 km (298 mi) of Saint Marc

533 km (331 mi) of Les Cayes

10 of the 12 forecast models plan the passage of Emily on Haiti.

Situation at 5:00am :

Yesterday at a press conference of SNGRD the Prime Minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, said that "all relevant sectors of public administration are mobilized to support the structures of civil protection and help the population in regard to the passage of Tropical Storm Emily" adding that "the Presidency has already taken steps in this direction and continues to follow the information closely."

"Operations Centres are activated throughout the country [...] The Departmental delegates, Mayors and the Coordinators of CASEC continue the actions of preparation, particularly in connection with the civil protection committees. Teams of volunteers from civil protection, including volunteer firemen, are mobilized" says the SNGRD, adding that with its partners the necessary measures were taken "to help people in risk areas to evacuate and get away from tropical Storm Emily. The Ministry of Economy and Finance already has 22 buses available for the West Department, for the evacuation of the camps.

Hundreds of evacuation sites are already selected. In the department of the West, 357 have been identified including 200 certified. These evacuation operations will be conducted with the support of the National Police of Haiti, the Minustah, and other partners such as the Haitian Red Cross and the International Organization for Migration (IOM)."

Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, director of civil defense invite "the population to move voluntarily to facilitate the task to the authorities and especially to avoid casualties at the family level. She has invited the public to be cooperative and show solidarity."

The National Meteorological Centre (CNM) and the Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti (SEMANAH) announced that "the cabotage operations are prohibited on the coast south of the country until further notice."

HL/ HaitiLibre