Gustav on track to hit Cuba

2008-08-26 16:03

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti - Gustav became a hurricane early on Tuesday as it approached Haiti's southern coast.

The fast-forming storm was also on track to hit Cuba.

The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said the hurricane's maximum sustained winds were near 130 kph.

Haitians were told to prepare for evacuations as the storm formed on Monday in the Caribbean. Haiti upgraded storm warnings to hurricane warnings along much of its coast as Gustav closed in from the south.

Forecasters said storm preparations in Haiti should be rushed to completion and that floods and landslides were possible across its southern peninsula. The forecasts suggested Gustav's eye could pass near the capital of Port-au-Prince, home to nearly three million people.

The hurricane was centred about 210km south-southeast of Port-au-Prince and was moving toward the northwest near 19kph.

On Monday, Carnival Cruise Lines diverted one of its ships to a Mexican port instead of Montego Bay, Jamaica, to avoid the storm, company spokesperson Vance Gulliksen said. Other cruise lines said they were closely tracking its path.

After passing over Haiti, Gustav was expected to hit Cuba's southeastern tip on Wednesday.

Destructive weather plans

The commander of the Guantanamo military base in Cuba, where the US holds about 265 men, many suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, ordered US military personnel to prepare for a hit late on Tuesday or early on Wednesday.

"We're monitoring the track of ... Gustav and reviewing our destructive weather plans and procedures," said Army Maj. Richard Morehouse, a spokesperson for detention operations at the base.

Haitians were told to stay on alert for evacuations and to avoid crossing flooded rivers, the cause of nearly all 23 deaths on the greater island of Hispaniola during Tropical Storm Fay earlier this month.

The agricultural ministry, already dealing with a food crisis and fighting to raise national production, advised farmers to put livestock in safe locations. All maritime activities also were suspended until further notice.

Dominican authorities also issued warnings and advised small boats to remain in port, even on the north side of the island of 17 million people.

Meanwhile, two other storms were lashing the southeastern US and Mexico's Pacific coast.

The remnants of Fay brought heavy rain and winds from Georgia to Louisiana. Floridians were still mopping up floodwaters from a storm that stuck around for a week and made a historic four landfalls, dumping more than 76cm of rain along the central Atlantic coast.

In Mexico, Tropical Depression Julio dumped rain on the central Baja California peninsula before heading toward the northern Gulf of California.

- AP