Noel transitions into extratropical storm

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This is the link to the national Hurricane center NHC

[q
url="http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2007/11/02/noels_remnants_expected_to_bring_70_mph_gusts_to_down_east_maine/"]The
National Weather Service predicted gusts of 70 mph Saturday evening in
Down East regions, and gusts of up to 50 mph are expected on the
southern coast.

Hurricane Noel, the deadliest storm to hit the Atlantic this year,
was expected to lose strength as it paralleled the U.S. coast while
moving north toward Nova Scotia. But it was still expected to pack a
punch with hurricane-force gusts.

In Maine, emergency management agencies, utility crews and the Red
Cross were making preparations, said Lynette Miller of the Maine
Emergency Management Agency. The Red Cross was prepared to open
shelters if necessary, she said.

"We're keeping a close eye on the forecast, and our trucks and crews
are set to go," said John Carroll of Central Maine Power Co.

Most boaters were headed to safe harbors and the Coast Guard boosted
readiness as the forecast called for gusts topping 85 mph off the coast.

In addition to strong gusts, brief but heavy rain was expected as
the fast-moving storm sweeps through Maine, said Eric Sinsabaugh of the
National Weather Service. The heaviest rainfall was expected to be
around Cape Cod, which could see 4 to 5 inches, he said.[/q]

[q
url="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/292916.html"]Hundreds
of Bahamians sought refuge in churches and other shelters Thursday as
Noel drenched the islands, strengthened and finally headed out to sea
as a hurricane, sparing South Florida but inflicting catastrophic death
and damage elsewhere.

The death toll now exceeds 100 in the Dominican Republic and Haiti,
with many others missing and thousands of homes destroyed or damaged in
those countries and in Cuba. One unconfirmed death was reported on the
Bahamian island of Great Exuma.

VILLAGE UNDER WATER

''Right now, I am in a shantytown where the entire little village
has been converted into a lake,'' Sergio Vargas, a congressman in the
Dominican Republic, told The Miami Herald by telephone from the
southern province of San Crist�bal.

''In my town alone, there are at least 10 dead and 40 missing,''
Vargas said. ``That's why we really can't be talking about numbers of
dead. We have to wait for the water to recede to see how many bodies
are in there under the water.''

On Thursday, it was the Bahamas' turn to deal with Noel's torrential
rainwater. Forecasters predicted five to 10 inches, with some isolated
areas receiving 15 inches.

Virtually all flights between South Florida and the Bahamas were
canceled Thursday. Travelers should contact their airlines before
leaving for the airport Friday.

''Whole low-lying areas are flooded,'' said Maxwell Burrows of Long
Island, which found itself under some of Noel's most persistent rain
bands. ``Both airports are under water and some vehicles are under
water.''

As many as 400 people had to spend the night in churches and other
shelters on higher ground, he said. Some roads were so flooded that
boats had to be employed to rescue residents.

Three feet of water intruded into Burrows' home.

''The police and the community got all the old people and all the people who were in trouble to shelters,'' he said.[/q]

[q
url="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8SKI0B00&show_article=1&catnum=0"]PIEDRA
BLANCA, Dominican Republic (AP) - Tropical Storm Noel triggered
mudslides and floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, pushing the
death toll to 81 on Wednesday and forcing some parents to choose which
of their children to save from the surging waters.

The storm was slowly moving away from the north coast of Cuba and
was projected to skirt Florida and batter the Bahamas, the U.S.
National Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm watch was issued for
parts of southeast Florida.

With rain still falling two days after the storm hit, rescuers were
struggling to reach communities cut off by flooding on the island of
Hispaniola. As they did, they found a rising toll of death and
damage—at least 56 dead in the Dominican Republic, 24 in Haiti and one
in Jamaica.

A swollen river overflowed its banks Monday night and swept away the
hamlet of Piedra Blanca in the central Dominican Republic, forcing
Charo Vidal to climb a tree. She watched her neighbor struggle to do
the same nearby, clutching infant twins while water swept an older
daughter away.

"She couldn't take care of all three," Vidal said Wednesday. "That
is something very significant, to have a child snatched from your hands
and you cannot do anything for them."

The mother, Mary De Leon, was inconsolable. "The river tore her from my hands as I held her," she said through tears.

"A lot of people had to choose between losing one child and losing
another one," said Liony Batista, a project manager for Food for the
Poor, an international Christian relief organization.

Sagrario Diaz, a 42-year-old farmer, also struggled to hold on to
his son in the surging waters but failed. "I fought, I swear I tried to
save him, but I couldn't," Diaz said. "I would like to die."

A neighbor, Lucia Araujo, said she heard the boy scream: "Daddy, I don't want to drown. Help me, I don't want to drown."

At least seven people died in Piedra Blanca, emergency officials said.

About 200 homes were destroyed in the nearby town of Bonao, Batista said.

Dominican President Leonel Fernandez declared a state of emergency
for the next 30 days and asked for international help, especially
rescue teams and helicopters. He ordered residents in 36 communities to
evacuate because they were in potential flood zones.

At least 58,300 Dominicans fled their homes, some 14,500 of which
were damaged, said Luis Antonio Luna, head of the Emergencies
Commission. He said at least 56 people had died in the Dominican
Republic so far. Flooding also forced the evacuation of about 1,000
inmates from a prison north of the Dominican capital.

Luna said officials were trying to reach dozens of isolated
communities, but bad weather, a lack of helicopters and damage to
bridges and highways slowed rescue efforts.[/q]

[q
url="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-noel,0,518873.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout"]Residents
of southeastern Florida were advised early Wednesday to keep an eye on
the progress of Tropical Storm Noel, a killer storm which could pass
close to the state in the next few days as it hammers the Bahamas.

At 8 a.m., Noel's top sustained winds were near 40 mph, down from 60
mph a day earlier, according to the National Hurricane Center. The
storm has crashed through the Caribbean, creating floods and mudslides
that have killed at least 22 people.

It was moving north-northwestward near 6 mph and approaching the
northern coast of Cuba, the center said. But it was expected to turn
away from Florida soon and speed into the open Atlantic.[/q]

[q
url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071029/ts_afp/dominicanhaitiweatherstorm;_ylt=Aj.PWBFG_Hl814l183g9Au.s0NUE"]As
Noel made its way across Haiti, drenching the vulnerable country and
stirring fears of dangerous floods and landslides, authorities in the
Dominican Republic blamed nine deaths on the storm's passage on Sunday.

Several communities across the country were cut off by flooded rivers as bridges reportedly collapsed in several areas.

Among the fatalities were two brothers killed when a wall of their
home collapsed on them in the Cienaga area, on the banks of the swollen
Ozama river, the National Emergency agency said.

The storm also caused authorities to shut down the international airport in the capital, Santo Domingo.

Forecasters said the storm could dump as much as 38 centimeters (15
inches) of rain. "These rains ... particularly in Hispaniola are
expected to cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the US
National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical Storm Noel was expected to head back out to sea on Monday and barrel toward the Bahamas.

It packed maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers (45 miles) per hour with higher gusts, the NHC said.[/q]

[q
url="http://www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/world/MI66200/"]PORT-AU-PRINCE,
Haiti (AP) -- Tropical Storm Noel formed over the Caribbean on Sunday
and forecasters warned that the slow-moving system could send flash
floods gushing down denuded hills in Haiti.

The storm, with sustained winds of 50 mph, poses a serious threat to
an impoverished nation that is still recovering from floods earlier
this month that killed at least 37 and sent more than 4,000 people to
shelters.

Flood concerns on Saturday forced three U.S. senators to cut short a trip to survey damage caused by earlier storms.

"It was just raining like mad," Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa told The
Associated Press before flying out of Port-au-Prince Saturday evening.
Senators Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Tennessee's Bob Corker were
also on the fact-finding trip.

Widespread deforestation and poor drainage mean even moderate rains
can cause devastation in Haiti, where thousands build ramshackle homes
in flood plains.

source: Wsvn7[/q]