Washington - Residents of the Caribbean Turks and Caicos
islands began surveying damage on Sunday following the devastating
impact of Hurricane Ike, as the 'extremely dangerous' category 4
storm continued on its path toward Cuba and Florida Keys.
At 8 a.m. (1300 GMT) Ike had winds of over 215 kilometres per
hour, just east of Grand Inagua in the Bahamas.
Residents of Turks and Caicos islands said on Sunday that the
worst there had passed, but the damage looked 'pretty huge.'
Speaking to US news channel CNN, Audley Astwood, a reporter at a
radio station on Grand Turk island said that 'it looks very dismal
outside.'
CNN reported that an estimated 50 per cent of homes on Grand Turk
had been destroyed by the storm or had roofs removed.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami reported on Sunday
morning that Ike was expected to move through the south-east Bahamas
during the morning, to be 'near or over eastern Cuba' by nightfall.
Authorities in Havana were evacuating up to 250,000 people from
towns and villages where the storm was expected to hit, Cuban media
reported on Sunday.
NHC labelled the hurricane as 'extremely dangerous' and said that
it remains a threat for 'all interests in the Florida Keys.'
Residents of the Florida Keys had been ordered to evacuate by 8
a.m. Sunday, CNN reported, and officials in Florida said they would
continue to help residents evacuate throughout the day.
While admitting that storm tracks are unpredictable, Florida
Governor Charlie Crist said Ike could develop into a serious threat
by Tuesday.
'What we also have to do, to be prepared, is to be smart, alert
and vigilant,' he said.
The Caribbean has already seen three major storms in the past
month, Tropical Storm Hanna, Tropical Storm Fay, and Hurricane
Gustav. Hundreds of people have died in Caribbean nations, with Haiti
being the worst hit. Some 167 people died there in the aftermath of
Tropical Storm Hanna.
Ike dumped heavy rain on northern Haiti on Sunday. Many areas,
including the northern town of Gonaives, have been virtually cut off
from relief supplies after the previous storms destroyed bridges.
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