Spring Break
Hurricane Ivan slams Grand Cayman Islands
By: Jay Ehrhart — The Associated Press
Issue date: 9/13/04 Section: News
The Hurricane Center said ham radio operators on Grand Cayman reported that people were standing on the roofs of homes because of storm surges of up to eight feet above normal tide levels.
While it was nearly a direct hit on Grand Cayman, the eye of the storm did not make landfall, passing instead over water just south of the island, said Rafael Mojica, a Hurricane Center meteorologist.
Still, emergency officials said residents from all parts of the island were reporting blown-off roofs and flooded homes as Ivan's shrieking winds and driving rain approached Grand Cayman, the largest of three islands that comprise the British territory of 45,000 people.
The government said Grand Cayman was "experiencing the most severe portion of Hurricane Ivan" on Sunday morning.
"We know there is damage and it is severe," said Wes Emanuel of the Government Information Service.
The airport runway was flooded and trees were wrenched from their roots, including a giant Cayman mahogany next to the government headquarters in downtown George Town. Radio Cayman went off the air temporarily before resuming broadcasts.
Though there were no immediate reports of injuries in the Caymans, the death toll elsewhere rose as hospital officials in Jamaica reported four more deaths, for a total of 15. At least 34 people were killed in Grenada, where the hurricane left widespread destruction. Scattered deaths occurred on other islands and in Venezuela.
A tropical storm watch was posted Sunday morning for the lower third of the 120-mile Florida Keys, from below Marathon through Key West and the Dry Tortugas.
A mandatory evacuation was ordered for tourists and the island chain's 79,000 residents. Streets, bars, hotels and shops in Key West were mostly empty, even as Keys officials said they were "cautiously optimistic" the hurricane could spare the islands from its worst winds.
In Cuba, the threatened area includes densely populated Havana, where traffic was light Sunday morning as most took shelter. About 1.3 million people across the island of 11.2 million were evacuated, with most seeking refuge with relatives.
"This country is prepared to face this hurricane," President Fidel Castro said Saturday night. The storm is the most powerful to threaten this island nation since Castro came to power in 1959.
In western Cuba, dozens of families in the coastal town of La Coloma bundled up clothes, medicine, furniture and television sets before boarding buses to shelters.
"I feel sad leaving my house on its own," said Ricardo Hernandez, a 44-year-old fisherman on his way to the inland capital of Pinar del Rio province. "But I have to protect myself and save the lives of my family."
Iberia Cruz, 50, lost her home in a hurricane two years ago. Since then, she has lived in a small room behind a community center, waiting for the government to rebuild her house.
"We've lived through others, and that is why we are afraid," Cruz said while moving her valuables to the second floor of a nearby building. "The ocean could pierce the town."
While it was nearly a direct hit on Grand Cayman, the eye of the storm did not make landfall, passing instead over water just south of the island, said Rafael Mojica, a Hurricane Center meteorologist.
Still, emergency officials said residents from all parts of the island were reporting blown-off roofs and flooded homes as Ivan's shrieking winds and driving rain approached Grand Cayman, the largest of three islands that comprise the British territory of 45,000 people.
The government said Grand Cayman was "experiencing the most severe portion of Hurricane Ivan" on Sunday morning.
"We know there is damage and it is severe," said Wes Emanuel of the Government Information Service.
The airport runway was flooded and trees were wrenched from their roots, including a giant Cayman mahogany next to the government headquarters in downtown George Town. Radio Cayman went off the air temporarily before resuming broadcasts.
Though there were no immediate reports of injuries in the Caymans, the death toll elsewhere rose as hospital officials in Jamaica reported four more deaths, for a total of 15. At least 34 people were killed in Grenada, where the hurricane left widespread destruction. Scattered deaths occurred on other islands and in Venezuela.
A tropical storm watch was posted Sunday morning for the lower third of the 120-mile Florida Keys, from below Marathon through Key West and the Dry Tortugas.
A mandatory evacuation was ordered for tourists and the island chain's 79,000 residents. Streets, bars, hotels and shops in Key West were mostly empty, even as Keys officials said they were "cautiously optimistic" the hurricane could spare the islands from its worst winds.
In Cuba, the threatened area includes densely populated Havana, where traffic was light Sunday morning as most took shelter. About 1.3 million people across the island of 11.2 million were evacuated, with most seeking refuge with relatives.
"This country is prepared to face this hurricane," President Fidel Castro said Saturday night. The storm is the most powerful to threaten this island nation since Castro came to power in 1959.
In western Cuba, dozens of families in the coastal town of La Coloma bundled up clothes, medicine, furniture and television sets before boarding buses to shelters.
"I feel sad leaving my house on its own," said Ricardo Hernandez, a 44-year-old fisherman on his way to the inland capital of Pinar del Rio province. "But I have to protect myself and save the lives of my family."
Iberia Cruz, 50, lost her home in a hurricane two years ago. Since then, she has lived in a small room behind a community center, waiting for the government to rebuild her house.
"We've lived through others, and that is why we are afraid," Cruz said while moving her valuables to the second floor of a nearby building. "The ocean could pierce the town."
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