Caribbean hurricane Strengthens, kills three
Pastor Dale Morgan
Caribbean hurricane Strengthens, kills three*
Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
Saturday August 18, 2007
The Guardian
Three people were killed yesterday as the first hurricane of the season
struck the eastern Caribbean. Hurricane Dean was expected to grow to a
category 4 with winds up to 150mph as it heads west into the Gulf of Mexico.
The storm was forecast to brush the southern coast of Haiti as it moved
toward the Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, raising the possibility that
it could make landfall in the US. Authorities expressed concern that the
hurricane could affect the production of oil and natural gas. There are
4,000 oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, producing about 25%
of US oil and 15% of its natural gas.
The storm hit St Lucia, Dominica and Martinique yesterday. Corrugated
iron roofs were ripped from houses on St Lucia, and a man was killed as
he tried to rescue a cow from a rain-swollen river.
In Dominica, where authorities said 150 homes were damaged, a
rain-soaked hillside gave way, killing a mother and her seven-year-old
child.
Martinique lost almost all of its banana crop and 70% of its sugar cane,
according to France's junior minister for overseas territories.
Hurricane Dean was expected to pass over Jamaica tomorrow before
entering the Yucatan peninsula and possibly the Gulf by Tuesday.
It is the first of what is predicted to be more active than normal
hurricane season. Sixteen storms are predicted for this year, while a
typical year sees 10 or 11.