Deadly Ike batters Cuba, heads toward Havana

Associated Press

A vehicle sits under rubble during heavy rains produced by Hurricane Ike in Camaguey, Cuba, Monday. Associated Press

CAMAGUEY, Cuba — Deadly Hurricane Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, blowing buildings to rubble and sending waves surging over houses. Some 900,000 Cubans evacuated from its path, which forecasters said could take it to Louisiana or Texas later this week.

Ike, which raked the Bahamas and worsened floods in Haiti that have already killed 319 people, made landfall on Cuba as a fearsome Category-3 hurricane, then weakened to a still-potent Category-2 on Monday as it ran along the length of the island.

There were no immediate reports of deaths in Cuba, despite storm-whipped waves that crashed over five-story buildings and winds that uprooted trees and toppled utility poles.

“I have never seen anything like it in my life. So much force is terrifying,” said Olga Alvarez, 70, huddling in her living room in Camaguey with her husband and teenage grandson.

Forecasters said Ike could weaken further before making a direct hit on Havana, where decaying, historic buildings are especially vulnerable, then regain force in the Gulf of Mexico before slamming into the United States somewhere along the Gulf coast.

By 10 a.m. CDT, Ike still had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was centered near latitude 21.1 north, longitude 78.5 west or about 45 miles west-southwest of Camaguey. Forecasters said it would likely move out into the Caribbean, picking up strength over warm water, before making Cuban landfall again.

Ike was expected to hit Havana, 290 miles away, early Tuesday.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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