Caribbean islands braced for Ivan the terrible

Caribbean islanders are braced for Hurricane Ivan, scrambling to put up storm shutters and buy water just days after Hurricane Frances tore across the region.

Ivan raced toward the Windward Islands today with sustained winds of 110 mph. Forecasters warned the storm, which weakened yesterday, was again growing in force.

A hurricane warning was issued for St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago and Grenada and its dependencies. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Trinidad, Martinique and St. Lucia.

Early today, the government of Barbados replaced its hurricane warning with a tropical storm warning. But the island’s 280,000 residents were preparing for the worst.

“Ivan poses a direct and serious threat,” Prime Minister Owen Arthur told an emergency session of his Cabinet.

Government offices closed early, and children were ordered to remain at home as teachers helped convert school buildings into hurricane shelters.

“It’s still a strong hurricane,” said Eric Blake, a meteorologist at the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami. “Barbados and other islands could see trees blown down, roof damage and it doesn’t take much wind to damage crops.”

At 5am (10am Irish time), the hurricane’s centre was about 140 miles south-south-east of Barbados. It was moving west at 18 mph.

Residents struggled to put up metal hurricane shutters.

Islanders also rushed to buy supplies like lanterns, paraffin, bottled water, canned food, torches and batteries. Long queues formed at petrol stations.

Ivan could threaten Florida but it was too early to tell, meteorologists said. It is also forecast to move over St Lucia, a former British colony of 165,000 residents.

“We have a major deadly storm approaching St. Lucia and we need to be prepared,” said Dawn French, director of the island’s National Emergency Management Office.

St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony called an emergency planning meeting and ordered all government offices and businesses closed today.

St. Lucians crammed into supermarkets to buy supplies including candles, batteries and bottled water. “I’m taking no chances. This one looks serious,” said 27-year-old shopper Cuthbert Lyons, who is St. Lucian but is on holiday from Britain.

Agriculture Minister Ignatius Jean said he worried about the storm’s possible effects on the important banana industry in the region.