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A28 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 30 May 2020
Battered Caribbean prepares for hurricanes amid pandemic

By DÁNICA COTO six schools, leaving only
Associated Press one operational for a shel-
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) ter if needed. In addition,
— Hurricanes. Earthquakes. more than 400 structures
COVID-19. still have to be demolished,
Caribbean islands have something that worries him
rarely been so vulnerable greatly.
as an unusually active hur- "If a hurricane comes,
ricane season threatens a there's no doubt they can
region still recovering from turn into projectiles," he
recent storms as it fights a said.
worsening drought and a While the U.S. territory said
pandemic that has drained it has 288 shelters for 40,000
budgets and muddled people with social distanc-
preparations. ing, there are still people liv-
"It is crazy," said Iram Lewis, ing with blue tarps as roofs
Bahamian minister for Di- since Hurricane Maria hit in
saster Preparedness, Man- September 2017 as a Cat-
agement and Reconstruc- egory 4 storm, said Ariadna
tion. "No one could have Godreau, a human rights
imagined this." attorney and executive di-
An estimated three to six An old military truck used during flooding sits parked at the Carlos Escobar Lopez vocational rector of Ayuda Legal Puer-
major hurricanes could school which will be used as a shelter during this year's hurricane season in Loiza, Puerto Rico, to Rico.
form this year as part of Thursday, May 28, 2020. The government estimated
a total of 13 to 19 named Associated Press several months ago that
storms that are forecast more than 20,000 blue
for the June 1 to Nov. 30 lands hadn't even started rations, especially the iden- tude quake and heavy af- roofs remained across the
season, according to the in some areas when the tification of sufficient shel- tershocks, with more than island, but neither housing
National Oceanic and At- pandemic hit and lock- ters given the pandemic. 70 families still staying in ho- officials nor the U.S. Federal
mospheric Administration. downs ensued, causing bil- "It's a very complex land- tels as the search for hous- Emergency Management
An average season gener- lions of dollars in economic scape this year," said Eliza- ing continues. Agency could provide up-
ates 12 named storms with losses in one of the world's beth Riley, acting execu- "We definitely have addi- dated numbers.
3 major hurricanes. most tourism-dependent tive director for the Carib- tional challenges with all Among those still waiting for
The dire forecast comes at regions. bean Disaster Emergency these simultaneous emer- their home to be repaired
a particularly trying time for As a result, governments Management Agency. gencies," said William Rodrí- since Hurricane Maria is
the Caribbean. Thousands are struggling more than In the Bahamas, the gov- guez, Puerto Rico's public the mother of 63-year-old
of people overall lost their ever to prepare for a sea- ernment will place families housing administrator. Maritza Santos. She said the
homes in southern Puerto son that started early: Tropi- in classrooms instead of The shuttering of schools wood-and-zinc roof blew
Rico because of recent cal Storm Arthur formed in preparing large gymnasi- means less shelters at a away and that her elderly
strong earthquakes and in mid-May and dropped rain ums like they did with Hur- time when more space is mother hasn't received any
the northern Bahamas be- on Dorian-battered islands ricane Dorian, Lewis said. needed to avoid a possible help to replace it. They live
cause of Hurricane Dorian, in the Bahamas before But that's not an option for second wave of coronavi- together now and worry
which hit September 2019 heading out to sea. some mayors in Puerto Rico, rus cases. about the upcoming hurri-
as a Category 5 storm, kill- The response to COVID-19 where dozens of schools in Santos Seda, mayor of the cane season because San-
ing an estimated 70 people has dried up government the island's southern region southern coastal town of tos' home already flooded
and leaving hundreds miss- funds and lockdowns have were permanently shut- Guánica, said the quakes during Maria and her moth-
ing. Demolition on both is- delayed hurricane prepa- tered after a 6.4-magni- damaged or destroyed er's home is unlivable.q

Well-preserved Roman mosaic unearthed in Italian vineyard

the northern Italian city to transform the area into a century ago has been
of Verona. The mosaic in a museum. The recent dis- brought to light,'' the city
bright shades of red, pink, covery of two nearby mo- administration of Negrar,
orange, purple and yellow saic floors confirmed the the town where the site is lo-
appeared to be ''in a good villa extended north and cated, said in a Facebook
state of conservation,'' south of the original site. post. The original excava-
from what archaeologists The dig from May 18-22 tion in 1922 revealed the
observed after gingerly was the fourth since July remains of a villa of some
digging a trench between and went ahead only af- 270 square meters that had
vineyards in the hills of Val- ter restrictions imposed as intricate mosaics covering
policella, Gianni de Zuc- part of Italy's coronavirus set into the floors of multiple
cato, the official in charge lockdown were lifted. The rooms. The ongoing proj-
of archaeology in Verona unearthed mosaic from ect aims to continue study
province, said Friday. the villa's servants' quarters of the site to fully reveal its
Gianni De Zuccato a well-preserved colorful mosaic floor of Mosaics revealing the site dates from the 3rd century story while protecting the
an ancient Roman villa archaeologists have revealed among of an ancient villa were and has since been cov- dig and eventually putting
vineyards near the northern city of Verona, Italy. first discovered in 1922. Ar- ered back up. a protective covering over
Associated Press chaeologists have been ''After numerous failed at- it ''with the goal of creating
SOAVE, Italy (AP) — Ar- mosaic floor of an ancient doing partial digs to deter- tempts, finally a part of the a museum that can be vis-
chaeologists have briefly Roman villa first discovered mine the scale of the origi- flooring and foundation of ited by the public.,' officials
revealed a well-preserved almost a century ago near nal villa and in preparation the Roman villa discovered said.q