Caribbean islanders flee ahead of roaring hurricane
Pastor Dale Morgan
Caribbean islanders flee ahead of roaring hurricane*
by Staff Writers
Port-Au-Prince (AFP) Aug 19, 2007
Hurricane Dean bore down on Jamaica early Sunday amid concerns it could
become "a potentially catastrophic" category five storm capable of
causing death and widespread destruction.
Tourists fled resorts in the path of the storm and island residents
battened down as the massive swell skirted the Dominican Republic and
plowed towards Jamaica, the Caymans and the Mexican coast.
A boy of 16 was reported dead and several injured in the Dominican
Republic as Dean swept by to the south, sending great waves crashing
onto its shores, the governor of eastern Santo Domingo province Eladio
Martinez said on radio.
Haiti ordered flights and coastal shipping suspended through Sunday and
prepared to evacuate seaside regions in Dean's path as the storm
appeared poised to pass next to the country at midday Sunday.
Jamaica, dead at the center of the storm's expected track, went on full
alert, closing down airports, as hundreds of thousands flocked to
markets and petrol stations to stock up on essentials.
"Dean could become a potentially catastrophic category five hurricane at
any time before it reaches Yukatan," the US National Hurricane Center
warned in a statement issued in Miami, Florida.
Category five hurricanes can bring huge storm surges of 5.5 meters (18
feet) or more and can require the massive evacuation of areas as far
inland as 10 kilometers (six miles).
At 0300 GMT, Dean was churning 360 miles (580 kilometers) east-southeast
of the Jamaican capital of Kingston and 170 miles (275 kilometers)
south-southeast of Port-au-Prince, packing sustained winds of 145 miles
(230 kilometers) per hour, according to the NHC.
Moving west at 17 miles (28 kilometers) an hour, it was forecast to pass
south of Haiti overnight and reach Jamaica later on Sunday.
It was also on direct course for the Cayman Islands and then forecast to
move to the resort region of northern Yucatan.
In Jamaica, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller called on all off-duty
police officers, firefighters and prison warders to report for work in
an effort to reinforce security and rescue operations.
Curfews of 48 hours were imposed in a number of areas, mandatory
evacuation of low lying and flood prone areas was ordered, and the
country's two main airports in Port-Au-Prince and Montego Bay were closed.
Jamaican television showed long lines at gas stations and empty shelves
in super markets as consumers prepared for what could be days of heavy rain.
Also on Saturday the White House said it was ready with aid for Jamaica
if needed in the wake of the hurricane.
In Cuba just to the north, authorities began evacuating tens of
thousands of people in six eastern provinces to save them from possible
flooding and destruction as the storm sweeps by.
The civil defense authorities said 35,000 people were targeted by the
evacuation order in the southeastern province of Holguin alone. Tourist
programs were also suspended across the island, it said.
In Mexico the government called a state of emergency and state oil
company Pemex launched its hurricane response plan, shutting down
production platforms and evacuating personnel, as Dean appeared headed
toward its southern Gulf of Mexico oilfields and the refining center of
Tampico.
Quintana Roo state Governor Felix Gonzalez ordered the evacuation of the
80,000 tourists from Cancun and other popular barrier islands of the
"Mayan Riviera" and blocked the further arrival of more tourists to the
area.
"We can evacuate 30,000 tourists by air every day. That gives us enough
time to leave hotel occupancy at a minimum, with a reasonable number of
guests we can assist and put up in shelters" when the storm strikes,
Gonzalez said.
In 2005, Wilma, one of the strongest hurricanes ever, made a direct hit
on Cancun and Cozumel and held over the area for hours, wiping out
hotels and beaches that have still not been totally rebuilt since.
With Dean currently expected to pass south of the United States, the
Houston, Texas-based mission control of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration meanwhile moved to speed up the current space
shuttle mission.
It decided to bring the Endeavour shuttle back to Earth on Tuesday
instead of Wednesday, in hopes of avoiding a possible forced shutdown of
the crucial operations center.