Jeanne claims 250 lives in Haiti

herald sun ^ | 04/09/21 | From Clarens Renois in Port-au-Prince

[Truth666]

AT least 250 people died in massive floods across northern Haiti after Tropical Storm Jeanne hit the crushingly poor Caribbean nation over the weekend, a UN spokesman said today.
Meanwhile, authorities were without news from the country's second largest island, La Tortue.
Staff from the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) could not find the island of 26,000 people while flying over the region by helicopter.

[Truth666]

Check the September 18 earhtquake map in the link of #1 ...

[Kirkwood]

Maybe those flying over just don't recognize the island anymore. It is just fragments of its former size and shape? I don't know the record number of deaths from a hurricane, but I think it was no more than 8,000 or 9,000. More deaths for typhoons, but this could be a record for the Atlantic, if true.

[nuconvert]

Pilot error?

That would have to be a giant tsunami, or the island would have had to have been swallowed up by the quake, as you said.

[freedumb2003]

With Ivan we entered the age of global superstorms

And is is all

BUSH'S FAULT!

[Semper911]

Chat? You moved this to chat?

[SteveMcKing]

It could have been 1 or 2 chopper pilots who made a small mistake.... let's not jump to conclusions.

[freedumb2003]

It's pointless

Once the decision is made, it's made.

[eastforker]

Not always true. Get a heavyweight to respond to JR.

[Kirkwood]

There have been entire unpopulated islands wiped out by hurricanes off the coast of the US. Louisiana has lost such islands which were large rookeries. So it is possible, but hopefully it is a mistake or exaggeration.

[rdl6989]

Meanwhile, authorities were without news from the country's second largest island, La Tortue. Staff from the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) could not find the island of 26,000 people while flying over the region by helicopter -from Herald Sun. I read this as no communications witht the island and a MAYBE a navigational error by a helicopter pilot. I am gonna keep looking for info though.

[Admin Moderator]

This was posted in chat.No one moved it

[SouthernFreebird]

BTT for later

[Admin Moderator]

My error. It was moved from news.

I'm going to move it back to news, but would appreciate some help in authenticating this story.

[rdl6989]

I find it very hard to believe that the second largest island in Haiti could disappear without a trace. The quake that would cause such a thing would have done tremendous damage all through Hispaniola and other islands.

[Sam Cree]

"Shortly before noon on 7 June 1692, 33 acres (66 percent) of the "storehouse and treasury of the West Indies" sank into Kingston Harbor in a disastrous earthquake. An estimated 2000 persons were killed in an instant. An additional 3000 citizens died of injuries and disease in the following days (Pawson and Buisseret 1975:121). Salvage and outright looting began almost immediately and continued off and on for years. A pocket watch, made ca. 1686 by Paul Blondel, a Frenchman living in the Netherlands, was recovered during Link's (1960:173) underwater excavations near Fort James. Its hands, frozen at 11:43 a.m., serve as an eerie reminder of the catastrophe.

"Following the earthquake, Port Royal underwent a dramatic revival only to fall again when it was ravaged by fire in 1703. A total of 16 hurricanes between 1712 and 1951 have consistently smashed Jamaica, as have an additional six earthquakes between 1770 and 1956 (Cox 1984:Appendix B). Following a severe storm, a hurricane, and two earthquakes in 1722, Port Royal as it once was disappeared for the last time."

OK, there is precedent for something similar, in the general area. However, I'm not accepting quite yet that not finding the island means it is gone. After all, not too many years ago, a Delta airliner landed at the wrong airport, completely unaware.

[LikeLight]

Hurricane Mitch, I think, may have killed tens of thousands in Central America a few years back . . . it's amazing how thoroughly our MSM ignores fascinating and important news from anywhere outside the U.S. borders . . .

[Kirkwood]

I know Mitch was very bad, but I've forgotten the numbers.

[freedumb2003]

Not always true. Get a heavyweight to respond to JR.

Hey Jim!!

[Semper911]

would appreciate some help in authenticating this story.

So would I. Thanks for moving it back.

Here is a church on the island if someone wants to call.

Catholic Church Mission La Tortue 268-5138/6709

[Kirkwood]

I'm not even considering this as an earthquake. I'm just trying to confirm the story that the island is gone.