Emily fizzles but still has flood potential

The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said the remnants of the former storm are producing disorganises showers and thunderstorms.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Friday August 5, 2011 – Although Tropical Storm Emily has disintegrated into a low-pressure system and Haiti has been spared the worst so far, residents remain uneasy as rain continues and swollen rivers threaten to flood homes.

Forecasters say the system could also redevelop into a storm again over the weekend.

What was the fifth named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season fizzled over Haiti yesterday evening, resulting in all watches and warnings begin cancelled.

In Haiti’s capital, where tens of thousands of people have been living in tent camps since the January 2010 earthquake, there was reportedly little damage. However, there remains a risk of several villages in the countryside flooding.

The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said the remnants of the former storm are producing disorganises showers and thunderstorms from Jamaica northeastward across eastern Cuba, Hispaniola – shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic –, and the southeastern Bahamas.

Although forecasters say it’s not likely that the system will redevelop into Emily today, conditions are expected to become more favourable for redevelopment by the weekend.

The NHC said this morning that there was a 60 percent chance of the system becoming a tropical cyclone again during the next two days as it moves toward the northwest near 15 miles per hour. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)