storming

My commere G. from Haiti just called, having received a visit from the Sisters and thus having gotten a fuller picture of the situation with my mother.  I feel so bad that I left without calling. I left Haiti less than 24 hours after Mom's accident and was packing and sorting right up to the last minute. I'm so grateful to have been able to talk to her today, for her generosity in making an international call, and for her prayers.

For the last three and a half weeks, my tiny world has revolved around a hospital room.  If there is anything that has gone on in the world that I should know about, well... Well, frankly, I don't care.  Right now my interest is in my parents, both of them, and what we're going to do to get through this.

However, as of this phone call, I'm making a definite exception to this.  G. just told me that there was a storm and that it was pouring so hard that she couldn't leave work.  Cap Haitien tends to flood, and it's certainly on the way to doing that now.  I looked it up - sure enough, Tropical Storm Chantal.

Here in Indiana, we're also having a storm - and it brings no worries.  We have drains, and we don't think much of the  possibility of flooding this time of year.  In 1982, Fort Wayne flooded badly enough that even the President came in person; my classmates and I were filling and placing sandbags; even my little sister in 1st or 2nd grade made sandwiches for the Red Cross.

In Haiti, they get floods like that far more often, and there are fewer resources.  And very little drainage.  Ten inches of rain? This is a serious problem.

Please pray for Haiti.  Pray for my mother and my father, too, as the situation is serious, but for the next couple of days, pray that the storm stay out to see, that things drain, and that everyone is given the sense not to try to cross rivers and get swept away.

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Here is more information:

Chantal s'approche, l'alerte rouge décrétée

Le Nouvelliste | Publié le :09 juillet 2013

Le Secrétariat permanent de gestion des risques et des désastres (SPGRD) a décrété l'alerte rouge à l'approche de la tempête tropicale Chantal qui demeure une menace pour Haïti. Toutes les dernières prévisions confirment qu'Haïti reste toujours sous la menace de fortes pluies orageuses, des rafales de vent et une mer houleuse dans la perspective du passage de la tempête, selon ce dernier bulletin publié mardi soir. Toutes les régions du pays sont concernées par le risque d'impact d'intensité modérée par rapport aux conditions de fortes pluies avec risques d'éboulements, de glissements de terrain et d'inondations à partir de mercredi soir. Les autorités ont maintenu mardi soir l'alerte rouge par rapport aux conditions de tempête du Plan national de gestion des risques et des désastres (PNGRD).
http://lenouvelliste.com/article4.php?newsid=118868

See also:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/07/10/chantal-storm-haiti-dominican-republic/2504777/