By ANITA SNOW – 9 hours ago
HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Ike roared toward Cuba's densely populated
capital of fragile historic buildings after forcing 1.2 million people
to evacuate, killing at least four and ravaging homes elsewhere on the
island nation.
Meanwhile, U.S. residents from Florida to the Texas border with Mexico
braced for Ike's next wallop.
The hurricane, which raked the Bahamas and worsened floods in Haiti that
have killed at least 331 people, made landfall on eastern Cuba as a
terrifying Category 3 hurricane, then weakened Monday as it ran along
the length of the Caribbean's largest island.
It was a Category 1 storm Monday afternoon, but forecasters expected it
to strengthen again before hitting Louisiana, Texas or northern Mexico
this weekend.
On the narrow streets of Camaguey, falling utility poles crushed cars
and the roaring wind transformed buildings of stone and brick into piles
of rubble. Colonial columns were toppled and the ornate sculptures on
the roofs of centuries-old buildings were smashed in the city, a UNESCO
world heritage site.
"I have never seen anything like it in my life. So much force is
terrifying," said Olga Alvarez, 70, huddling in her Camaguey living room
with her husband and teenage grandson. "We barely slept last night. It
was just `boom, boom, boom.'"
Delia Oliveras, 64, said it was the strongest hurricane her family has
experienced. They fled to a covered patio as winds tore the roof from
the living room.
"This critter was angry, really angry," she said.
State television reported that Ike killed four people in Cuba — the
first storm deaths on the island in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season.
Two men were killed in central Cuba while removing an antenna from a
roof. On the island's east, a woman died when her house collapsed on her
and a man was killed by a falling tree.
Cuba, a nation of more than 11 million people that has carried out
well-executed evacuations over the years, ordered 1.2 million people to
seek safety with friends and relatives or at government shelters, state
television reported. In Havana, evacuations began in earnest late Monday
afternoon.
"I feel safe here, above all for my granddaughters who are the most
important thing in my life," said Marta Molas, who evacuated with seven
relatives from a marginal neighborhood. "They take good care of us, we
have television and food. ... When the electricity goes out we have a
radio."
The government closed schools and government offices in the capital as
people reinforced windows with wood and formed long lines at bakeries.
Along the seaside Malecon promenade, businesses were being shut down.
Nancy Nazal, who lives on the second floor of a high-rise apartment
building overlooking the ocean, said authorities told her to be prepared
to evacuate.
"The truth is, we are scared," she said.
Evacuations are not mandatory in Cuba except for pregnant women and
small children. But in an authoritarian state, few people would think to
ignore the government's advice — and state news media make an example of
the few who pay the ultimate price when they fail to evacuate.
Gustav tore across western Cuba as a monstrous Category 4 hurricane on
Aug. 30, damaging 100,000 homes and causing billions of dollars in
damage. But no deaths were reported after mandatory evacuations of at
least 250,000 people.
Ike first made landfall in Cuba in the easternmost coastal city of
Baracoa, destroying 300 homes and damaging hundreds more, said Luis
Torres, president of the Civil Defense Council in Guantanamo province.
Much of eastern Cuba was without electricity and phone service was
spotty. The road between Santiago and Guantanamo was cut when a
reservoir overflowed.
Ike was centered just off Cuba's southern coast early Tuesday, gaining
strength over warm waters, on a path to cross Cuba during the day and
move out over the Gulf of Mexico in the evening.
"When it's out of Cuba it has the potential to become a lot stronger,"
said Felix Garcia, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in
Miami.
At 5 a.m. EDT, Ike was located about 85 miles south-southeast of Havana
and was moving west at 13 mph. It had maximum sustained winds near 80 mph.
The hurricane center said on this track, Ike should cross western Cuba
during the day Tuesday, and be in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday.
State television said officials had taken measures to protect tourists
at vulnerable seaside hotels, including about 10,000 foreigners at the
Varadero resort, east of Havana.
A few street signs were toppled at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay
in southeast Cuba and power went out temporarily in some residential
areas, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Lamb said.
But no injuries were reported, and the military said cells containing
detainees — about 255 men suspected of links to the Taliban and al-Qaida
— are hurricane-proof.
Associated Press writers Will Weissert in Camaguey, Cuba; Jonathan Katz
in Gonaives, Haiti; Alexandra Olson in Cabaret, Haiti; Andrea Rodriguez
and Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana, Cuba; David McFadden in San Juan,
Puerto Rico; and Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gVWjsPEiqe1tEu2mhBIRaxxGi8owD93351JG1
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