Caribbean swept by Ike, Florida and Cuba on alert (2nd Roundup)

Sep 7, 2008, 16:50 GMT

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. dpa ar jbl ms