A rare tornado struck the northern Haitian community of Bassin-Bleu on Tuesday, injuring more than 50 people and leaving about 300 homeless, according to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs.
Emergency response operations for the tornado continued through Thursday morning, and local officials warned of major disruptions to transportation and power in the area. Local officials said they might impose curfews, especially if more severe weather occurs.
U.N. officials and local media said ten of the reported injuries were serious enough to require hospitalization. Heavy rains sweeping through much of Haiti hindered rescue efforts and could lead to floods or landslides, adding to the many woes of the troubled Caribbean nation.
Flooding could, in turn, spark an outbreak of diseases, such ass cholera, which has killed hundreds of thousands of Haitians over the years. The country was pronounced cholera-free by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in February 2022 after three years without a confirmed case, but then a new outbreak occurred in October 2022.
The people left homeless by the Bassin-Bleu tornado will join more than 360,000 people who have already been displaced in Haiti, mostly by rampaging gang violence in the tortured capital city of Port-au-Prince. In fact, local officials said many of the injured were people who had already been displaced from neighboring communities by gang violence.
END TIMES PROPHECY WATCH 
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