Deadly Ivan pounds Jamaica

2004-09-11 11:23

Kingston - Debris-choked ocean waters poured through seaside streets of the Jamaican capital early on Saturday as a strengthened Hurricane Ivan pounded the island, packing winds of almost 250km/h.

The storm, the worst to hit the region in decades, has already killed at least 27 people in Grenada, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Tobago, and triggered panic buying and mass evacuations in parts of Cuba and Florida.

Seven-metre waves slammed the coastline as Ivan approached the Caribbean island nation of 2.7 million, where a state of emergency was declared at midday on Friday.

Power blinked off over the island and rivers overflowed, sweeping away homes and flooding neighbourhoods with waist-high waters roiling with tree branches, boulders and debris.

"Flooding has already begun in some places," said Prime Minister P J Patterson.

"I will be advising the governor-general to issue a proclamation declaring a period of public emergency in the island and its territorial waters with immediate effect."

Next stop Cuba, Key West

He pleaded with residents to evacuate coastal areas, but many ignored the order saying they feared looting.

At 02:00, the core of the hurricane was about 75km southwest of Kingston, after a "wobble" west of its northwesterly path kept the eye and the strongest winds surrounding it just south of the island, said the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre.

Ivan was pointed next at Cuba and the Florida Keys, the southern string of causeway-linked islands where residents were packing up under a mandatory evacuation and heading for the mainland.

Maximum sustained winds had increased to 250km/h with higher gusts, making Ivan "an extremely dangerous category four storm" on the five-level Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, said the centre.

Jamaican authorities pleaded for 500 000 people to leave coastal areas most at risk from the massive storm, which has already killed 17 in Grenada, five in Venezuela, four in the Dominican Republic and one in Tobago.

The tiny spice island of Grenada, population 100 000, suffered catastrophic damage in the storm, according to Prime Minister Keith Mitchell.

Cancelled all flights

Up to 90% of homes on the island were damaged, crops were destroyed and tourist resorts were in ruins.

Looting and sporadic violence followed in the wake of the storm, prompting the United States to organise an evacuation of about 1 500 of its citizens living there.

Air Jamaica cancelled all flights in and out of the country, the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper reported, and "all aircraft were ferried out of Kingston and Montego Bay to the United States last night until the hurricane passed.

The Jamaican government sent buses to help move residents from high-risk areas.

- AFP