Washington - After killing nearly 170 people in Haiti, Tropical Storm Hanna hit states along the US Atlantic coast Saturday, disrupting power lines and throwing flights out of gear. The storm first drenched the states of South and North Carolina, whirling in with sustained winds of 85 kilometres per hour, before moving further northeast.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre forecast tornadoes in the states of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York; as well as storm surges, "large and battering waves" and heavy rain along the Atlantic Coast.
There were no storm-related deaths reported in the US, but about 10,000 homes in South Carolina and 12,000 homes in North Carolina were without electricity after the storm made landfall.
As a result of Hanna, flights were delayed for up to four hours at major airports in Philadelphia, Newark in New Jersey and John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
But it was nothing like the devastation Hanna unleashed on Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas. With 163 dead and at least 70,000 living in shelters, relief organizations fear that by the end of the year at least 4 million Haitians will be facing famine.
Over the past three weeks, Haiti has been battered by Tropical Storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna, which uprooted bridges and destroyed roads, making it difficult for aid agencies to reach those most in need.
"The situation is further complicated by the risk of social and political unrest, in a country where a food crisis that led to violent riots in April remains unresolved," the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, said in a statement Saturday.
It estimated that at least 300,000 children were impact by the back-to-back hurricanes and storms in Haiti.
While UNICEF has mobilized more than 1 million dollars in aid for Haiti, the European Union has allocated 2.8 million dollars in fast- track relief funding. The funds, to be used for vital needs, is in addition to 2.8 million dollars announced on September 1 in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.
NHC forecasters were also tracking two other storms - Ike and Josephine - that have been brewing in the Atlantic Ocean and heading west.
Ike, a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, was swirling with sustained winds of 185 kilometres per hour and forecast to pass just north of Haiti on Sunday, before moving on to Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico.
