Hurricane Ivan slams Grand Cayman, at least 65 dead

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – People stood on rooftops of flooded homes and a car floated by the second story of a building yesterday in Cayman Islands, pummelled by Hurricane Ivan before it strengthened to an extremely dangerous Category Five storm as it headed for western Cuba.

There were unconfirmed reports of at least two deaths on low-lying Grand Cayman island, which residents said is under up to 2,3 metres of water. One of the strongest storms on record to hit the region, Ivan has killed at least 65 people across the Caribbean and threatens millions more.About 1,3 million Cubans were evacuated from their homes, most taking refuge with friends and relatives.”It’s as bad as it can possibly get,” Justin Uzzell, 35, said Sunday by telephone from his fifth-floor refuge in Grand Cayman island.”It’s a horisontal blizzard,” he said, “The air is just foam.”Ivan, a slow-moving storm, pounded the wealthy British territory for hours with 240 km/h winds that intensified to near 260 km/h as it headed for western Cuba.Storms over 248 km/h are Category Five on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the highest level and capable of catastrophic damage.Officials had yet to assess damage but Donnie Ebanks, deputy chairman of the Cayman Islands’ National Hurricane Committee, estimated between one-fourth and half of the 15 000 homes in Grand Cayman suffered some damage.Ivan was projected to pass near or over Cuba’s western end yesterday afternoon or evening, with flooding expected in the tobacco-growing Pinar del Rio province that is the main source for the island’s famed cigars.The Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm surge could reach 7,5 metres with dangerous, battering waves.- Nampa-APOne of the strongest storms on record to hit the region, Ivan has killed at least 65 people across the Caribbean and threatens millions more.About 1,3 million Cubans were evacuated from their homes, most taking refuge with friends and relatives.”It’s as bad as it can possibly get,” Justin Uzzell, 35, said Sunday by telephone from his fifth-floor refuge in Grand Cayman island.”It’s a horisontal blizzard,” he said, “The air is just foam.”Ivan, a slow-moving storm, pounded the wealthy British territory for hours with 240 km/h winds that intensified to near 260 km/h as it headed for western Cuba.Storms over 248 km/h are Category Five on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the highest level and capable of catastrophic damage.Officials had yet to assess damage but Donnie Ebanks, deputy chairman of the Cayman Islands’ National Hurricane Committee, estimated between one-fourth and half of the 15 000 homes in Grand Cayman suffered some damage.Ivan was projected to pass near or over Cuba’s western end yesterday afternoon or evening, with flooding expected in the tobacco-growing Pinar del Rio province that is the main source for the island’s famed cigars.The Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm surge could reach 7,5 metres with dangerous, battering waves.- Nampa-AP