Tourists evacuated as Ivan heads for Jamaica

The deadliest hurricane to hit the Caribbean in a decade is on course to slam into Jamaica today, leading to mass evacuation of tourists.

Holidaymakers have been rushed from Jamaica to the Dominican Republic’s north coast in the hope they can escape from the storm, dubbed Ivan the Terrible.

Around half a million people were urged to evacuate their homes in coastal areas of Jamaica yesterday as hurricane Ivan bore down creating panic in its projected path.

US officials ordered people to evacuate the Florida Keys and were also considering evacuating the 1,000 US citizens in Grenada last night.

Hurricane Ivan is now travelling at 150mph, and has been downgraded to a category four storm from a category five hurricane, the highest on the scale.

But it is still expected to tear through Jamaica when it hits today.

Chris Hennon, meteorologist at US National Hurricane Centre in Miami, said: “I don’t think it will make much difference to the impact for Jamaica because they are going to get a direct hit.”

The storm, which is the fourth major hurricane of the Atlantic season, could hit Florida Keys by Sunday, after crossing Cuba. Florida has now been evacuated three times in a month following Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances.

At least 16 people have been killed so far by Ivan’s ferocious 160 mph winds which have pummelled Grenada, Barbados and other islands.

It has already damaged 90% of the homes in Grenada, killing 13 people there, and destroyed a 17th century stone prison that left criminals on the loose as looting erupted.