In addition to cholera, Haitians may have to face a hurricane

Haitians have yet another problem - a hurricane may hit this week, adding to the woes of a nation where cholera is spreading in the countryside and thousands upon thousands of earthquake survivors are still living in flimsy shelters.

A U.S. Navy vessel, the amphibious warfare ship Iwo Jima, was steaming toward Haiti on Tuesday to be on hand to provide disaster relief in case Tropical Storm Tomas appears late in the week as forecast, possibly after strengthening again into a hurricane. The storm has already caused 14 deaths in the eastern Caribbean, Washington Post informs.

Many people in the camps said they did not know Tropical Storm Tomas might be coming, but there was little they could do living in flimsy shelters to protect themselves from the elements.

"I didn't know about (the storm). Maybe somebody came by to say something yesterday when I was out," said Florence Ramond, a 22-year-old mother and food vendor who is living on the Petionville Club golf course in a refugee camp managed by actor Sean Penn's relief organisation.

Even knowing, Ms Ramond said, she could do nothing to secure her home, a shack made of tarpaulin, wood and a tin door, The Press Association reports.