Caymans threatened by Lili hurricane

A helicopter swooped down to rescue people from Jamaican rooftops while Tropical Storm Lili flooded dozens of homes and strengthened as it took aim at the Cayman Islands and Cuba today.

Forecasters said Lili could become a hurricane today and hit the Cayman Islands, a wealthy British territory. Rains were already lashing the islands.

Thousands of people evacuated their homes in eastern Cuba as Lili brushed against the south-east coast yesterday. The storm was expected to reach the western part of the communist island by Tuesday.

In Jamaica, officials said flooding damaged dozens of homes. Deluges washed away several houses and turned roads into muddy rivers.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said police Sergeant Gladstone Devery in the eastern Jamaican town of Bull Bay, where a military helicopter lifted people from the rooftops of homes surrounded by water.

One taxi driver was feared dead after floodwaters reportedly carried away his vehicle in the town nine miles east of Kingston, the capital.

In the United States, forecasters warned coastal residents from Texas to Florida to be on alert for Lili to hit as early as Friday.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Kyle had winds of 45 mph, but remained about 265 miles south of Bermuda and threatened only ships.