'Weakened' hurricane still leaves trail of destruction

Hurricane Ivan lost its catastrophic capabilities as it skirted Grand Cayman today, but it still uprooted trees, burst the banks of canals and flooded some homes with winds near 155mph.

The hurricane had grown to a rare top-Category 5 storm with 165 mph winds on Saturday but it lost some strength today as it approached the Cayman Islands, which appeared likely to escape its full force.

Ivan was still capable of causing tremendous damage and could again strengthen. Millions more people are in its path, with a projected direct hit on Cuba before it moves into the Gulf of Mexico or hits South Florida.

The storm has killed 56 people across the Caribbean so far this week, including 34 in Grenada and 11 in Jamaica.

The storm smashed into Jamaica early yesterday with ferocious waves and wind nearing 155mph, just below the speed defining a Category Five hurricane, the most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

It stalked Jamaica’s southern coast, never directly hitting the island, and may do the same with the Caymans.

“There’s a possibility the eye may also skirt the Caymans as well,” said meteorologist Jennifer Pralgo at the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

The storm could dump up to 12 inches of rain, possibly causing flash floods and mud slides, the Hurricane Centre said.

“We are looking at potentially catastrophic conditions,” James Ryan, chairman of the Cayman Islands National Hurricane Committee said. “We are in the path and we have to take every precaution at this stage to protect life and property.”

But there were few reports of damage as Ivan’s shrieking winds and driving rain closed in on Grand Cayman. Flying debris hit shutters of some shelters and bashed open the door of one, which had to be propped closed. At least one beach resort lost its boat dock.

Hundreds of people left the Caymans before the hurricane came.

The Caymans have strong building codes that are strictly enforced, and the island has no shanty towns or tin-roofed structures.

Officials reported 3,000 people had filled all shelters on Grand Cayman and about 750 in Cayman Brac island were in shelters. Many people in Cayman Brac had taken to the caves that historically have provided shelter from bad hurricanes.

In Cuba, President Fidel Castro said the government was doing everything it could to save lives and property.

“This country is prepared to face this hurricane,” Castro said on state television.

Jamaica, an island of 2.6 million, was saved from a direct hit when the hurricane unexpectedly wobbled and lurched to the west.

East of Kingston, the capital, dazed survivors stood in the rain and watched 25-foot waves crash onto beachfronts where a dozen houses used to stand at Harbour View.

Police have killed two alleged looters and four officers have been wounded in shootouts with armed looters, officials said.

Five people drowned or were struck by trees that crashed into their homes, said Ronald Jackson of Jamaica’s disaster relief agency.

Ivan also has been blamed for the deaths of five people in Venezuela, one in Tobago, one in Barbados, and four children in the Dominican Republic.

Forecasters warned that Ivan could strike Florida, where buildings in the Keys were mostly boarded up, deserted by evacuating residents and tourists. Ivan is approaching hard on the heels of hurricanes Charley and Frances.

Hundreds of Caymanians fled aboard 10 charter flights scheduled for an evacuation.

Most of the 150 residents of Little Cayman evacuated to Grand Cayman, and about 755 people on Cayman Brac – more than half the population - and more than 600 people on the main Grand Cayman island moved into shelters, officials reported.

The British territory has about 45,000 residents.

Jamaicans largely ignored government pleas for 500,000 people to flee flood-prone areas. Only 5,000 were in shelters when Ivan stalked the southern coast, coming to within 35 miles of Kingston.

Jamaica had not been hit by a major storm since Hurricane Gilbert struck in 1988, killing dozens of people and inflicting massive damages as a Category Three storm.

Ivan, the fourth major hurricane of the Atlantic season, damaged dozens of homes in Barbados, St Lucia and St Vincent last week, before making a direct hit on Grenada.