MATTHEW THREATENS HAITI, JAMAICA, CUBA Tour operators take precautions

Posted on 10/03/2016 | About Haiti

An extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew moved slowly over the Caribbean on Sunday night, following a track that authorities warned could trigger devastating floods in parts of Haiti.

The powerful Category 4 hurricane had winds of 145 mph (230 kph) late Sunday. Its centre was expected to pass to the east of Jamaica and then cross over or be very close to the southwestern tip of Haiti late Monday or early Tuesday before reaching Cuba on Tuesday afternoon, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti. Rain was already falling on Jamaica, but forecasters said the southern Haitian countryside around Jeremie and Les Cayes could see the worst of the rains and punishing winds.
“Wherever that centre passes close to would see the worst winds and that's what's projected to happen for the western tip of Haiti,” said John Cangilosi, a hurricane specialist at the US centre.
“There is a big concern for rains there and also a big concern for storm surge.”
Matthew is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, Category 5, becoming the strongest hurricane in the region since Felix in 2007. The hurricane centre said the storm appeared to be on track to pass east of Florida through the Bahamas, but it was too soon to predict with certainty whether it would reach the US coast.
Officials with Haiti's civil protection agency said there were roughly 1,300 emergency shelters across the country, enough to hold up to 340,000 people. Authorities broadcast warnings over the radio telling people to swiftly heed evacuation warnings, trying to counter a common tendency for people to try to stay in their homes to protect them during natural disasters.
Teams of civil protection officials walked the streets of Les Cayes and other areas urging residents to secure their homes, prepare emergency kits and warn their neighbours. They also evacuated people from some outlying islands. Many Haitians appeared unaware of the looming hurricane.
Forecasters said the slow-moving hurricane was expected to dump 15 to 25 inches (40 to 60 centimetres) of rain over southern Haiti, with a few places getting as much as 40 inches (100 centimetres).
As of 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), the storm was centred about 325 miles (520 kilometres) southwest of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince. It was moving north at 5 mph (7 kph).
Hurricane watches
A hurricane watch was posted for the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the Dominican Republic, where authorities began mandatory evacuations of areas at risk for flooding.
The hurricane earlier had been projected to be closer to Jamaica, but still was a danger to the island.
“The centre of the system is looking more likely that it will pass to the east of Jamaica but it won't miss it by that much, so they are still going to see impacts,” Cangilosi said.
Cuba
After passing Jamaica and Haiti, Matthew was projected to reach Cuba. The centre was expected to pass about 50 miles east of the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, where authorities evacuated about 700 spouses and children of service members on military transport planes to Florida.
Cuban President Raul Castro travelled to the eastern city of Santiago to oversee preparations for Matthew's arrival.
Hundreds of Cuban soldiers were moving in convoys around the city and state workers with chain saws cut tree limbs overhanging power lines and homes. Trains from Havana to eastern Cuba were cancelled and the government called on residents of eastern Cuba to move livestock to high ground, tape up their windows and store potable water ahead of the hurricane's arrival.
Tour Operators prepare
Sunwing’s president of tour operations, Andrew Dawson, told us, "It has been some time since we had such a hurricane in the Caribbean, but we have mobilized resources across the company; from tour operator, to airline, to our destination teams and hotel partners, the level of co-operation and speed of decision making has been incredibly impressive.
“It’s also the one time when the ultra-competitiveness is paused, and we've been liaising with Transat for example this weekend, and sharing information for everyone's customers benefit.
“For Jamaica, our three flights this weekend operated as normal, and were round half full, with some passengers choosing to delay travel or move to other destinations outside the impacted area. The option to fully cancel was given, but few passengers chose to do so. Mercifully with the forecasted path moving east we hope that Jamaica is spared the full impact of Matthew but our thoughts are with our teams in Jamaica and of course all Jamaicans.”
Dawson said that, “After Jamaica, the current forecast is that Matthew will impact eastern Cuba on Tuesday. We have therefore taken measures to move Sunwing guests from hotels in Manzanillo, Holguin and Camaguey. They are being transported to Cayo Coco, where we have secured accommodation to allow them to finish their vacations in safety, and will fly them home, at their original times, directly from Cayo Coco.
“Tuesday's Toronto to Holguin flight, will now also operate to Cayo Coco. We have secured accommodation and are offering customers booked on that flight the option to take a vacation in Cayo Coco instead, which most have decided to take. Alternatively customers can take advantage of Sunwing's Hurricane Guarantee and switch destinations, dates or take a refund.
We are monitoring the situation for our eight other Cuban flights on Tuesday and Wednesday but at this stage the forecast would be that they will not impacted. Similarly decisions about flights later in the week to The Bahamas will be taken once the forecast is clearer, given how slowly Matthew is moving"
According to its website, Transat’s hurricane policy is in effect for the following departures:
Departure to Varadero(Cuba) planned on October 3 Departure to Port-au-Prince (Haiti) planned onOctober 5 Departures to Holguin(Cuba) planned on October 6 and 7
The website also stated last night, “At this point, our operations are not affected and continue as scheduled. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”