Caribbean Hurricane Strengthens; Path in Doubt
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Sunday, September 7, 2008
KEY WEST, Fla., Sept. 6 -- Hurricane Ike grew to fierce Category 4 strength Saturday as the National Hurricane Center described it as an "extremely dangerous" storm.
Ike's uncertain path forced millions from the Caribbean to Florida, and Louisiana to Mexico, to nervously wonder where it would strike. Preparations stretched more than 1,000 miles.
The massive, 135-mph storm took a southwesterly shift that could send it over Cuba and the Florida Keys by Tuesday before heading into the warm, open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Once again, a possible target was New Orleans and the already storm-weary U.S. Gulf Coast.
"These storms have a mind of their own," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) said after a meeting with mayors and emergency officials. "There are no rules."
First in Ike's path was the low-lying British territory of Turks and Caicos, already pummeled for four days in the past week by Tropical Storm Hanna.
In Haiti, which was also struggling to recover from Hanna, authorities tried to move thousands of people into shelters ahead of Ike.
At 8 p.m. EDT, Ike's center was located about 60 miles east of Grand Turk Island as the storm moved west-southwest at about 15 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Haitian City Pummeled By Hanna Braces for Ike
GONAIVES, Haiti -- Hundreds of people fled this waterlogged city for higher ground Saturday as powerful Hurricane Ike threatened to unleash heavy rain and compound a disaster caused by a previous storm. At the local jail, emaciated inmates waited for food to stave off starvation.
With a tropical storm warning for Gonaives and other parts of Haiti, some residents climbed on top of cars to reach the second floor of their homes.
U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers delivered high-energy biscuits and water to famished residents, many of whom had not eaten since Monday, when Tropical Storm Hanna struck.
"What I saw in this city today is close to hell on earth," U.N. envoy Hedi Annabi said as he toured the region Saturday.
Dozens of children raised their hands and ran after U.N. food trucks that rumbled through the damp streets of Gonaives. "Hungry! Hungry!" they yelled.
Saturday evening, the director of the civil protection department said the confirmed death toll from Hanna in Haiti had risen to 167.
