Hurricane Dean Rips Jamaica New Butthole

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/8/19/194108.shtml?s=lh

Hurricane Dean Rips Into Jamaica

NewsMax.com Wires Monday, Aug. 20, 2007

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Hurricane Dean pummeled Jamaica with gusting winds and

torrential rains Sunday after the prime minister made a last-minute plea for

residents to abandon their homes and head for shelter. Many residents

ignored the call, however, while tourists holed up in resorts with

hurricane-proof walls.

The storm, which had already killed eight people on its destructive march

across the Caribbean, triggered evacuation calls from the Cayman Islands to

Texas, and forced the Space Shuttle to cut short its mission. Cruise ships

changed course to avoid Dean, but some tourists in Jamaica could not get

away before the island closed its airports late Saturday.

Hurricane-force winds began lashing Jamaica on Sunday afternoon, said

meteorologist Rebecca Waddington at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Forecasters said Jamaica would take a near-direct hit with Dean's eye

passing just to the south later Sunday night.

The government set up more than 1,000 shelters in converted schools,

churches and the indoor national sports arena. Authorities urged people to

take cover from the storm, which had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph and

was expected to dump up to 20 inches of rain on the island.

But only 47 shelters were occupied as the storm began hitting, said Cecil

Bailey of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.

"For the last time, I'm asking you to leave or you will be in danger," Prime

Minister Portia Simpson Miller urged residents earlier as the storm loomed

offshore.

As of 5 p.m. Sunday, Dean was located 50 miles south of Kingston and was

traveling west at 20 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

George Lee, mayor of the Portmore community near the capital Kingston, said

appeals to evacuate had gone unheeded. Some islanders said they were afraid

for their belongings if they moved to shelters.

"Too much crime in Kingston. I'm not leaving my home," Paul Lyn said in Port

Royal, east of Kingston.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Linval Bailey said police were sent to

commercial districts to prevent looting and curfews were imposed until

Monday evening. Authorities also cut power on the island to prevent damage

to the electrical infrastructure.

Many tourists who did not get flights out took shelter at places like

Sandals Whitehouse, a resort that has buildings capable of withstanding a

powerful storm.

Trinice Tyler, a postal worker from Lake Elsinore, Calif., said she would

weather the storm there "on my knees praying."

"I'm celebrating my 40th birthday today, and it's going to be a birthday to

remember," she said. "I have mixed emotions. It's exciting, but I'm nervous.

Am I going to make it home?"

Earlier in the day, fishermen hauled their skiffs inland and cruise ships

changed their course to avoid the storm. Local media reported that 17

fisherman were stranded on the Middle Keys, small islands about 90 miles

south of Jamaica. The Jamaica Defense Force advised them to break the

padlocks off a building to seek shelter, Nationwide News Network reported.

The National Hurricane Center said the first hurricane of the Atlantic

season was projected to reach the most dangerous classification, Category 5,

with sustained winds of 160 mph before crashing into the Cayman Islands on

Monday and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula after that. The Mexican mainland or

Texas could be hit later.

In Galveston, Texas, residents remembered the 2005 Hurricane Rita evacuation

when motorists from the coast ran into residents fleeing Houston, clogging

evacuation routes for miles. Officials say they've worked out the kinks in

the system, but many Galveston residents were skeptical.

"I've talked to a lot of people about this," said Chuck Lee, a resident.

"They'd rather die in their homes than die in their cars on some highway."

In the Cayman Islands, tourists were ordered to board shuttle buses for the

airport. Hundreds of frantic vacationers lined up at ticket counters for

special flights home, and many slept on the airport floor. Cayman Islands

Gov. Stuart Jack said all but 1,500 tourists were evacuated from the British

territory by Sunday afternoon.

"It's kind of spooky," said George Mitchell, of Detroit, who missed his

flight out. "We don't know what to do or where to go. It freaks you out."

In Mexico, tourists also streamed out of resorts on Yucatan peninsula and

formed long lines at the airport to try to fly home. Twelve empty planes

arrived Sunday to move travelers out, said airport spokesman Eduardo

Rivadeneira. The state government set up 530 shelters with a capacity of

73,000 people.

The hurricane created massive waves and surges high as 20 feet as it passed

the Dominican Republic on Saturday, flooding roads and drowning a boy. At

least two people were killed and about 150 homes were destroyed in Haiti,

emergency officials said.