Dangerous hurricane Gustav hits Cuba

HAVANA: Deadly hurricane Gustav intensified into an "extremely dangerous" category four storm as it struck Cuba on Saturday, after leaving a trail of death and destruction across the Caribbean. "Gustav has continued to strengthen and now has maximum winds near 145 miles per hour (230 kilometers per hour)," the US National Hurricane Center said. Evacuations were underway in coastal areas from northwest Cuba to Louisiana in the United States, where Gustav was predicted make landfall Monday or early Tuesday, three years after superstorm Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans. Civil defense authorities in Cuba's Pinar del Rio province and most of northern Cuba said they were moving 190,000 people to safety, mainly from coastal towns vulnerable to flooding before Gustav hits shore. Havana, just to the west, also ordered its two-million population to be on alert and took precautions for heavy winds and rainfall. The eye of the hurricane passed over the Isla de la Juventud, or Isle of Youth, to the south of the mainland early Saturday afternoon. Early Saturday, a Caymans official reported heavy damage from Gustav on Cayman Brac, the large eastern island of the Caymans group, with power and water supplies down. "We're hoping that it's going to settle down enough that we can do some damage assessment," said Ernie Scott, District Commissioner of the Sister Islands. "I'm expecting the HMS Iron Duke early and they're going to be providing significant assistance in our damage assessment operations," he said, referring to the British Royal Navy frigate in the area.
source:TOI