Hurricane Ivan Drenches Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Churns toward Florida

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 13 Sep 2004 - 11:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Hurricane Ivan battered the Cayman Islands with ferocious winds and torrential rains on Sunday (Sept. 12) after ravaging Jamaica and Grenada in its deadly trek through the Caribbean. As the storm crossed the Cayman Islands, Ivan packed sustained winds near 150 mph, making it a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane.

Following a similar path to Hurricane Charley just weeks ago, Ivan tore off roofs, produced waves the size of two-story buildings and submerged an airport runway as it roared past Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands that make up the British territory of 45,000 people. The monstrous storm is expected to cross the western portion of Cuba tomorrow, with tropical storm force winds anticipated in the Florida Keys tomorrow night.

Current forecasts place Ivan's U.S. landfall along the Florida panhandle early Wednesday morning, yet residents throughout the state's west coast have been urged to take precautions.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Ivan's center was about 225 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba and was moving west-northwest at 10 mph. Hurricane force winds extended 90 miles from the storm's eye, with rainfall of 8 to 12 inches expected in association with the storm.

Ivan killed at least 16 people in Jamaica, as its driving rains and winds triggered mudslides, washed out roads and ripped roofs from homes when the monstrous storm roared past the island of 2.7 million people on Friday night and Saturday. Hurricane Ivan has been blamed for at least 56 deaths in the Caribbean, including 34 in Grenada, where 90 percent of the island's structures were leveled.

If Ivan keeps its projected course toward Florida, the state would face a storm that combines the worst of hurricanes Charley and Frances. Forecasts call for it to be nearly as powerful as Hurricane Charley's 145 mph winds when it nears the state, and though smaller, would still have some of the sprawling size of Hurricane Frances, with tropical storm winds reaching far enough to cover the entire peninsula.

Charley's destructive force was concentrated in a narrow ring around the eye; it has been likened to a tornado 10 miles wide. Ivan's most destructive winds easily could be twice as wide. Frances didn't have winds that packed that punch, but its inchworm pace across the state left 6 to 8 inches of rain everywhere in its wake.

Hurricane Ivan's rampage through the Caribbean began on Tuesday, when it passed south of the island of Barbados as a Category 3 storm, packing winds of up to 90 mph that damaged homes and disrupted utilities. Similar destruction was left on the islands of Tobago and Saint Vincent before growing into a Category 4 system as it passed directly over Grenada.

The American Red Cross is closely monitoring the situation in Grenada, Jamaica and the other affected Caribbean islands through its International Disaster Response Unit and continues to maintain contact and to coordinate activities with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU).

Though massive response efforts to both Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances are ongoing, American Red Cross disaster responders are on full alert across Florida, ready to shelter evacuees and provide emergency relief whenever and wherever Ivan strikes.

Additionally, the Red Cross is encouraging residents in the storm's projected path to prepare now by taking the following actions:

---- Identify ahead of time where you could go if you are told to evacuate. Choose several places--a friend's home in another town, a motel, or a shelter.

---- Keep handy the telephone numbers of these places as well as a road map of your locality. You may need to take alternative or unfamiliar routes if major roads are closed or clogged.

---- Listen to NOAA Weather Radio or local radio or TV stations for evacuation instructions. If advised to evacuate, do so immediately.

---- Take these items with you when evacuating:

- Prescription medications and medical supplies;

- Bedding and clothing, including sleeping bags and pillows

- Bottled water, battery-operated radio and extra batteries, first aid kit, flashlight

- Car keys and maps

- Documents, including driver's license, Social Security card, proof of residence, insurance policies, wills, deeds, birth and marriage certificates, tax records, etc.

For more information, visit the Red Cross section on Hurricane Preparedness.

You can help the victims of this and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting our Online Donation Page.

http://www.redcross.org