OCHA Situation Report No. 4
Caribbean: Hurricane Gustav
2 September 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

This situation report is based on information received from, the UN
Emergency Technical Team (UNETT) in the affected countries, the Regional
Office in Panama and the National Hurricane Centre.

HIGHLIGHTS

- Tropical storm "Gustav" has today become a category 2 hurricane and has
claimed the lives of 94 people in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and
Jamaica. It has earlier become a category 4 when hitting Cuba earlier.

- Jamaica reported 12 deaths, while Haiti now reports 76 deaths.

- Assessments are on going in the various affected countries to decide on
assistance if needed.

- Meanwhile, Tropical storm "Hanna" has now been upgraded to a category 1
hurricane moving towards the Bahamas.

SITUATION

1. On August 25th, a tropical depression in the Caribbean strengthened
into Tropical Storm "Gustav", and on August 26th rapidly strengthened into
category 1 Hurricane. Hurricane "Gustav" made landfall in Haiti. After
weakening to a tropical storm, "Gustav" shifted course slightly on 28
August morning.

2. On 30 august 2008, "Gustav" became a hurricane category 4 on on the
Saffir-Simpson scale and hit directly Cuba's Island of Youth, on towards
Pinar del Rio Province, to the Carahuao area, in the Southern coast of
Pinar del Rio, and crossed the province during four hours before entering
the Gulf of Mexico hours later via the municipality of La Palama on the
North coast.

3. At 1200 pm CDT on 1 Septemeber, the center of hurricane Gustav, now a
category 2, was located near latitude 29.6 North/longitude 91.1 West or
about 10 miles southeast of Morgan city Louisiana. This position is also
about about 65 miles/105 km Southeast of Lafayette Louisiana and about 65
miles/105 km of New Orleans of Louisiana. "Gustav" is moving toward the
northwest at near 15 mph/24 km/hr and this general motion is expected to
continue with a decrease in the forward speed during the next two of days.
On the forecast track, the center of Gustav will track along the south
central Louisiana coast this afternoon, then move into western Louisiana
tonight and eastern Texas on Tuesday 2 September. Maximum sustained winds
have decreased to near 105 mph/ 170 km per hour with higher gusts.
Additional weakening is forecast as the center of "Gustav" moves inland
over Louisiana.

4. Meanwhile, tropical storm "Hanna" has now been upgraded to a category 1
hurricane. At 1.30 pm AST, the center of hurricane "Hanna" was located
near latitude 22.4 North and longitude 72.6 West or very near Mayaguana
Island in the Southeastern Bahamas. "Hanna" is moving toward the
west-southwest near 5 mph/7 km/hr. A slow motion toward the West-southwest
or Southwest is expected today followed by a turn toward the West and
Northwest on Tuesday. On its track, "Hanna" will be moving over the
Southeastern and central Bahamas during the next two days. The government
of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the central Bahamas, the
Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands.

HAITI

The most affected departments are the South-East, South, Nippes, West,
Grand-Anse, Artibonite and Centre. The number of affected families rose to
4,875. The number of deaths is now at 76, with 9 disappeared and 35
injured. More than 2,100 houses were destroyed and 8,150 were damaged.
According to the Direction de la Protection Civile, there are currently
some 7,232 people in temporary shelters. However, local authorities in
Grande Anse, Nippes and West have requested technical assistance to carry
out further rapid assessments as well as assistance in running the
temporary shelters. A significant number of schools are being used as
temporary shelters. With schools scheduled to start again in the beginning
of September, this will result in a significant logistical challenge.
Preliminary assessments by the FAO indicate that the damages to the
agricultural sector are significant but rapid assessment missions are
still ongoing, notably with NGOs. Access remains difficult. In Marigot, la
Valee and Bainet, banana plantations are badly damaged. In Fesles and
Pavee a Marigot, agricultural fields are flooded. More than 2,000
livestock have drowned and more than 10 km of irrigation systems and
drainage canals require rehabilitation. In Grand-Anse, preliminary
assessments indicate that banana plantations are also the most affected.
In Nippes, the costal areas was the hardest hit. In the South, despite
limited access, preliminary information indicate that cassava, beans,
peanuts and banana plantations were damaged.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

6. In the Dominican Republic, the storm left 8 people dead following a
mudslide that buried a home in Santo Domingo. Two persons were injured.
Authorities said that some 6,255 persons were evacuated and more than
1,239 homes were damaged with 12 destroyed. Already some people are
returning to their homes from the 8 activated shelters, with only 477
remaining in shelters. Some communities are still isolated.

CUBA

7. Regarded as the most severe hurricane that has struck Cuba in the past
50 years, "Gustav" hit the Island of Youth with strong winds. It further
marched on towards Pinar del Rio Province, entering the Cajio (the area
between San Cristobal and Los Palacios) with enraged winds and towering
waves of 2-5 metres high, which penetrated as far as 2 to 7 kilometers
inland. "Gustav" then moved to the Carahuao area, in the Southern coast of
Pinar del Rio, and crossed the province during four hours before entering
the Gulf of Mexico hours later via the municipality of La Palama on the
north coast. The strongest winds felt in Havana were between 120-130 km/h.
In Los Palacios town, the local weather office registered a squall of 340
kilometers/per hour, never before registered in the country.

8. Some 250,000 people in total were evacuated in Havana province, the
Island of Youth, Southern Matanzas province, Pinar del Rio province, and
Havana capital City, either to shelters or to relatives in safer areas.
Some 147 shelters were activated. Plantations and health facilities were
protected. An advanced distribution of basic food provided through the
ration system was undertaken in all the western provinces. The Ministry of
Public Health had also dispatched medical surgical teams to areas
vulnerable to loss of communications. In all of the western provinces
including Havana, the beginning of the school year, foreseen for September
1, has been postponed.

9. There has been no official confirmation of casualties. The two most
affected territories by "Gustav" are the province of Pinar del Rio and the
Special Municipality of the Island of Youth. According to local press
sources, the main damages are concentrated in the agriculture sector, in
the electricity and communication systems as well as in economic and
social installations. Very serious damages were caused in Pinar del Rio
and are now being assessed by the authorities. A 500-bed hospital was
destroyed and the Government deployed an emergency hospital. The main
damages are concentrated in the western part of the province, in Bahia
Honda, Minas de Matahambre,

Consolacion del Sur, San Cristobal, Los Palacios and Candelaria
municipalities. The Paso Real de San Diego town, near Los Palacios, was
fully devastated with partial or total destruction of numerous homes,
social infrastructure as well as electricity and telephone services. In
the Island of Youth, low-lying areas are now flooded and damages are
estimated to be severe and numerous. Some of the Island's roads ?
including those at Nueva Gerona, the capital city- have been washed away
or are clogged with trees and power lines. The main telecommunications
towers were toppled by the hurricane. House roofs, doors, windows and
water tanks were blown away while other homes were totally destroyed.
Heavy damages in the important fishing commerce and food industries have
been sustained by industrial and public service institutions. Some
warehouses collapsed and are completely destroyed. Tobacco curing
installations were destroyed and some damages were reported in poultry
farms, especially in San Cristobal municipality.

JAMAICA

10. The Meteorological Service has discontinued the Tropical Storm
Warning.Some 12 deaths are confirmed. A total of seventy two (72)
communities have been affected, mainly by flooding. Reports from the
Parish Disaster Offices indicate that there are 39 shelters opened,
housing a total of 777 persons, however the number of people are
diminishing. Two health facilities are awaiting the restoration of
electricity. All health systems are functioning.

11. Damage to the agriculture, mainly to banana and plantain plantations,
was sustained mainly in the eastern parishes of Portland, St. Thomas and
St Mary. Initial estimates suggest that banana cultivation in Portland
suffered were damaged up to 90%, up to 70% in St. Mary and 80% in St.
Thomas. In Portland, damage was concentrated in the areas of the Rio
Grande and Buff Bay Valleys, in the eastern sections of St Thomas,
including Bath Hordely, Golden Grove and Agualta Vale, Robins Bay,
Pembroke Hall, Russell Hall, Gayle and Woodside in St Mary. St Andrew, St
Catherine and, to a lesser extent, Clarendon, Westmoreland, Manchester and
St.Elizabeth sustained damage to greenhouses, vegetables and yam.
Preliminary estimates reveal that the damages in the agricultural sector
amounts to1.7 Billion Jamaican Dollars. Preliminary estimates suggest that
damage to the infrastructure could be as high as 3 billion Jamaican
dollars.Some151 roads are blocked by debris/ breakaways; some 40 roads are
flooded while the Georgia Bridge in St Mary and the Bog Gorge remains
impassable.

CAYMAN ISLANDS

12. There has been no casualty reported in the Cayman Islands. Only one
shelter remains open, while water and electricity supplies have been
restored and the airport reopened.

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