Tomas threatens Jamaica and Haiti

The National Hurricane Center says Tomas could dump 5 to 10 inches of rain over much of Haiti.NEW: Tomas could hit Haiti on Friday, most likely as a tropical stormNEW: Public health officials fear the storm could exacerbate Haiti's cholera outbreakThe storm weakened early Wednesday, but is expected to strengthenAre you in Tomas' path? Share your photos and videos, and let us know how you're preparing for the storm.

Miami, Florida (CNN) -- Tomas weakened to a tropical depression Wednesday but is expected to gather some steam as it churns over the southern Caribbean and makes its way toward earthquake-devastated Haiti.

The official National Hurricane Center forecast track shows Tomas is likely to make landfall in southwestern Haiti on Friday as a tropical storm, which would have sustained winds between 39 mph (63 kph) and 73 mph (117 kph) with higher gusts. There is a small chance it could regain hurricane strength, according to forecast maps.

Public health officials are especially concerned because of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed more than 300 people and could worsen with the coming storm.

Tomas could dump enough rain for accumulations of 5 to 10 inches over much of Haiti, some of which could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, the hurricane center said.

Haiti's president and prime minister held an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss evacuations of people living in coastal communities, the United Nations said Wednesday.

And the United States has deployed the amphibious naval ship Iwo Jima to provide humanitarian support, the U.S. Southern Command said.

As of 2 p.m. ET, Tomas had winds of 35 mph (55 kph) and was centered about 315 miles (505 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and about 245 miles (395 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, the center said. It was moving west-northwest at 6 mph (9 kph).

A turn toward the northeast is expected over the next two days. A tropical storm watch is in effect in Jamaica. People in the Dominican Republic also are urged to monitor Tomas' progress.

With the possibility of landslides, flooding and washed-out roads and bridges in Haiti, the United Nations was scrambling to get supplies to key staging areas on the island, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday.

"Supplies are being pre-positioned notably in Jeremie, Les Cayes, Jacmel and Leogane, which are expected to experience the storm more severely," according to Martin Nesirky with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Tomas hit the West Indies island of St. Lucia as a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday morning and caused major damage by the time its winds subsided Monday night.

The death toll attributed to the storm rose Tuesday to 12 and St. Lucian Prime Minister Stephenson King issued a declaration of disaster.

"No one could have adequately prepared for the event as the hurricane moved very slowly, a mere 8 miles per hour over the country, and deposited two years' annual rainfall in a 24-hour period," said June Soomer, an official in the prime minister's office.

"Roads and bridges have collapsed, schools damaged ... homes have been destroyed," Soomer said. Some towns, including Soufriere on the southwest coast, were reachable only by sea, she said.

But two bridges in the north have been partially reopened so people can get from the fishing village of Gros-Islet to the capital city, Castries, she said.

Hewanorra International Airport has reopened.

Aid from the United States and France was expected to arrive Tuesday to help clear roads, she said.

But access to fresh water remained a concern: Soomer predicted damaged water mains would be "at least halfway back to normal" by the end of the week.

Tomas also caused damage on St. Vincent, where two people were injured when they attempted to fix roof damage during the storm, officials said. The storm sent some 1,000 people into shelters, said Michelle Forbes, acting director of National Emergency Management.

November hurricanes are rare, said CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. The Atlantic hurricane season ends November 30.

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Tomas regains strength as it heads toward Haiti

Haitians in a relocation camp gather near a red flag warning of an impending storm. Tropical Storm Tomas may hit Haiti Friday.NEW: Diaster called "worst ever" for St. LuciaHurricane warning in effect for Haiti Haitians told to seek sturdy shelter if possiblePublic health officials fear that it could exacerbate Haiti's cholera outbreakAre you in Tomas' path? Share your photos and videos and tell us how you're bracing for the storm.

Miami, Florida (CNN) -- New warnings bloomed across the Caribbean early Thursday as Tropical Storm Tomas approached island nations, threatening a possible landfall Friday on the western edge of earthquake-devastated Haiti, forecasters said.

A hurricane warning was issued for Haiti late Wednesday. Another hurricane warning was issued early Thursday for the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos. The warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 to 36 hours, according to the Miami, Florida-based National Hurricane Center.

A tropical storm warning was issued for Jamaica, and the southern coast of the Dominican Republic -- from the Haitian border eastward to Barahona -- was under a tropical storm watch, as were the Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba and Holguin.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, the center of Tomas was about 305 miles (490 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It was moving north-northwest at 6 mph (10 kph).

Tomas, which once was a Category 2 hurricane and then weakened to a tropical depression before re-intensifying, had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), but some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, forecasters said.

Tracking maps show Tomas re-strengthening and possibly brushing the western tip of Haiti early Friday as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm is expected to produce a total of 5 to 10 inches of rain over much of Haiti and the Dominican Republic -- rains that could trigger flooding and mudslides. Some areas could see as much as 15 inches of rain, the Hurricane Center said.

In addition, a storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 1 to 3 feet above normal tide levels in the warning area, in areas of onshore winds, forecasters said, along with "large and destructive waves."

Tomas is expected to turn north and northeast and slightly accelerate over the next two days. The center of Tomas "will pass near Haiti or over extreme eastern Cuba tonight and early Friday and near or over the southeastern Bahamas on Friday," the Hurricane Center said.

Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the coast within the warning area later Thursday. Tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 kilometers) from Tomas' center.

On Haiti, a struggling, poverty-stricken nation still recovering from the January 12 earthquake and currently grappling with a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly 450 people, the government is warning people in low-lying areas and in the tent cities that sprung up after the temblor about Tomas, according to Time magazine.

"The state has not issued a mandatory evacuation," Nadia Lochard, technical coordinator for the Haitian Civil Protection Department, told Time. "But we are telling those who have friends and families with [solidly built houses] to wait out the storm there."

The problem: Many of those who lost their homes in the earthquake have nowhere to go. Time estimated 1.5 million Haitians are homeless and living in makeshift tents. One of them, Franklin Mezulus, 53, lives in a camp on a hillside outside of Port-au-Prince and has eight children under his care, according to Time.

"If I had friends or family with homes, I would have been there on the 13th of January," Mezulus told Time. "If a storm hits, I'll have nowhere to go."

In the only "planned" camp, Corail-Cesselesse, red flags were set up to warn residents about the storm, Time reported. Previously, the government might have evacuated residents to schools or hospitals, but few of those buildings are still standing. The International Organization for Migration, a humanitarian group which manages the camp, plans to move 6,000 people to several shelters, including a new and unoccupied prison in the city of Croix-de-Bouquets. But "even when you identify a hurricane shelter, it can only house about 500 people," IOM spokesman Leonard Doyle told Time.

The Clinton Foundation in August committed $1 million to build 14 emergency shelters in Haiti, and six are complete, each able to house 80 people, Time said. The Red Cross has positioned supplies in Port-au-Prince and southwestern coastal cities ahead of Tomas, the magazine said. The U.S. Southern Command said Wednesday the USS Iwo Jima has been deployed to Haiti to provide humanitarian support.

But, "We're basically maxed out," Oxfam spokeswoman Julie Schindall told Time. "We're mounting two emergency responses, and we can't handle a third."

Haiti's president and prime minister held an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss evacuations of coastal communities, the United Nations said Wednesday.

Public health officials are afraid the cholera outbreak will worsen with the storm.

Elsewhere, Tomas could produce 1 to 3 inches of rain over Jamaica and 3 to 6 inches over the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, the Hurricane Center said.

Tomas hit the West Indies island of St. Lucia as a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday morning and caused major damage by the time its winds subsided Monday night. At least 12 people died in the storm, according to St. Lucian Prime Minister Stephenson King.

Rebuilding has begun on the island, including the rehabilitation of two bridges that collapsed in the storm, St. Lucia's government said in a posting on its website earlier this week. King has asked France to assist the island "in the aftermath of what is already being described as the worst-ever natural disaster in St. Lucian history," the government said.

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility has said it will make payments to St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines for damage sustained in Tomas. Preliminary calculations show a payout of $3.2 million for St. Lucia, but the government estimated the damage caused by the storm could surpass $100 million, according to the government.

St. Lucia said it will be ready to "welcome all visitors in its usual legendary fashion" by November 12. Cruise ship calls to the island, which had been suspended in Tomas' wake, will resume Friday.

The popular tourist area of Soufriere was "devastated" by the storm, King said in the statement. "... it's not just a question of clearing these roads; sections of the network have completely disappeared. We are just going to have to find another way in and out of the town."

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