Hurricane Tomas pushed northward from Haiti, leaving villagers to mop up, evacuees to return to their tents and almost everyone relieved that the country did not suffer what could have been its first big disaster since the January earthquake.

Panicked residents fled a coastal city that has been hit twice already this decade by huge floods as an intensifying Hurricane Tomas moved up Haiti’s north western coast.

A storm system reached hurricane strength in the Caribbean today as it heads toward earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Forecasters are predicting high tides and winds of up to 100 kilometes per hour this weekend, due to the effects of Hurricane Tomas.