Continue reading »]]> Paloma lost its punch as it stalled over Cuba on Sunday and was downgraded to a tropical depression after coming ashore as powerful hurricane that battered the island still recovering from two earlier storms.

Paloma left a trail of destruction through eastern Cuba, but not the widespread devastation of hurricanes Gustav and Ike that caused $8 billion in damage when they struck in August and September.

In it latest advisory, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Paloma’s winds had dropped to 35 miles per hour (55 kph). Its center was located 15 miles (25 km) south-southwest of the eastern central city of Camaguey and moving just 1 mph (2 kph) to the north, the center said.

The storm hit the southern coast on Saturday with 120 mph winds (195 kph) that knocked over power and phone lines, toppled trees, damaged homes and felled a communications tower.

In Santa Cruz del Sur, where Paloma made landfall, a 13-foot (4-metre) storm surge pushed seawater nearly a mile (1.5 km) inland, damaging hundreds of homes. Rainfall of up to 15 inches (40 cm) was reported in some areas, causing local flooding.

Paloma weakened quickly as it crept inland and was downgraded throughout the day on Sunday before its downgrade to tropical depression.

Much earlier in the day, the Cuban weather service said only remnants of Paloma remained and stopped issuing advisories.

NO INJURIES OR DEATHS

Cuban officials declared the recovery phase begun and many of the hundreds of thousands of evacuees started returning home. No storm-related deaths or major injuries were reported.

“I’m happy that it was less that expected,” university student Maritza Bacallao in Camaguey. “The scare was worse than the reality.”

“It was less than Ike and I hope it’s the last one,” said school teacher Iris Mendoza, also in Camaguey. “It’s the second time they made me spend the night without sleeping, watching to see if the roof fell in.”

Gustav slammed the Isle of Youth and westernmost Pinar del Rio province with 150 mph (230 kph) winds, while Ike hit eastern Cuba with 120 mph winds (195 kph) and rampaged through much of the island.

They damaged almost 450,000 homes and destroyed 30 percent of Cuba’s crops, which touched off food shortages in the cash-strapped communist-run island that normally imports 60 percent of its food.

The most recent reports said only 20 percent of the damaged homes had been fully repaired.

Before hitting Cuba, Paloma raked the Cayman Islands, causing wind damage and flooding in the wealthy British territory, but no deaths.

Paloma was the eighth hurricane of a busy Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends Nov. 30.

It was was the second-most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the month of November and struck 76 years after a Nov. 9, 1932, cyclone that killed 3,000 in the same part of Cuba.

Reuters

Continue reading »]]> CAMAGUEY, Cuba (AP) — Crashing waves and a powerful sea surge from Hurricane Paloma destroyed hundreds of homes along Cuba’s southern coast, but the storm rapidly weakened into a tropical depression Sunday as it moved over the island.

Early damage reports were limited, but state media said the late-season storm toppled a major communications tower, interrupted electricity and phone service and sent sea water almost a mile (1 1/2 kilometers) inland, ravaging a coastal community near where it made landfall.

No storm-related deaths were immediately reported.

Officials had feared that Paloma could slow Cuba’s recovery from Gustav and Ike, devastating hurricanes that struck earlier this year, causing about $9.4 billion in damage and destroying nearly a third of the island’s crops.

But Vicente de la O of Cuba’s national power company said damage to the power grid was far less than that caused by Gustav and Ike in late August and early September.

Paloma roared ashore near Santa Cruz del Sur late Saturday as a Category 4 hurricane but quickly lost strength, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters said the Cuban and Bahamian governments discontinued all warnings associated with Paloma by Sunday morning.

At 4 p.m. EST, Paloma’s center was 15 miles (25 km) south-southwest of Camaguey, Cuba. Once as strong as 145 mph (230 kph), the storm’s winds had weakened to 35 mph (55 kph). Paloma was drifting toward the north at about 1 mph (2 kph).

The hurricane center’s forecast said Paloma or its remnants should be near the north coast of Cuba on Monday.

On Sunday, waves more than 10 feet (3 meters) high leveled about 50 modest houses along the coast of Santa Cruz del Sur. Civil Defense authorities said altogether 435 homes in the community were destroyed.

Javier Ramos told The Associated Press he rebuilt his simple wood-frame house in the town after Hurricane Ike, only to watch Paloma flatten it again.

“At least we’re alive, but my wife hasn’t seen this yet,” Ramos said as he scavenged bits of clothing and smashed dishes in his front yard. “I don’t know how she’s going to react. It’s going to be terrible.”

Elsewhere in town, Angel Betancourt was skinning a drowned goat. “The water was up to a meter high and the goat drowned,” he said. “What else can we do? We’re going to eat it.”

Touring Santa Cruz del Sur on Sunday, Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura said the area was among the hardest-hit nationwide.

In the nearby community of Jagua, Herienso Rondon, a 50-year-old retired day laborer, said he was still trying to repair damage from Ike when Paloma tore away his wooden house’s roof and pulverized the belongings inside, including a meager bed and mattress.

“I don’t have any hope,” he said. “After Hurricane Ike (government officials) came to visit me and said they had no way to help and I had to buy the wood for repairs.

“I have no money,” said Rondon, who gets a monthly pension of 158 pesos, about $7.50.

Across central and eastern Cuba, more than 500,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas as Paloma approached. Cuba regularly moves people en masse to higher ground before tropical storms and hurricanes, preventing major loss of life.

Earlier, Paloma downed trees, flooded low-lying areas and damaged roofs in the Cayman Islands. But residents there appeared to weather the hurricane unscathed.

The Associated Press:

Incoming search terms:

• hurricane barbara
• hurricane in haiti

Continue reading »]]> Hurricane Paloma, heading toward Cuba, is packing sustained winds of 135 mph and has been upgraded to Category 4 status, meteorologists said Saturday.

Accuweater.com forecasters said Paloma was expected to make landfall late Saturday night or early Sunday morning along the south-central coast of Cuba. Rain and strong winds were already pounding the Cayman Islands Saturday as officials urged residents to stay off the streets and evacuated some low-lying coastal regions.

“Before Paloma gets to Cuba, there will be some upper level wind sheer that will take away some of its energy, but it is still likely to be Category 3,” said AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Michael Sager. “The storm will run perpendicular to the island and it will remain over land for about 12 hours. It’s likely to have become more disorganized by the time the storm passes on to the Bahamas.”

At 4 a.m. Saturday, the storm’s center was 40 miles southwest of Little Cayman and about 75 miles east of Grand Cayman and was moving in a northeasterly direction, CNN reported.

UPI.com

Continue reading »]]> Hurricane Paloma strengthened over the Caribbean and may become a Category 3 storm before hitting Cuba, which is still recovering from hurricanes Ike and Gustav.

Paloma’s maximum sustained winds increased to 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, from 120 kph earlier today, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on its Web site just before 7 a.m. Miami time. The system, which is forecast to continue strengthening, was about 395 kilometers (245 miles) west of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and moving north at 13 kph.

On the forecast track, the center of Paloma will pass near the Cayman Islands late Friday or early Saturday,” before hitting Cuba, the center said. Additional “strengthening is likely and Paloma is expected to become a Category 2 hurricane later today and possibly reach Category 3 intensity by Saturday.”

A Category 3 storm has winds of between 178 and 209 kph, the third strongest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. As much as 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain may fall on the Caymans, the center said.

The Cuban government issued a hurricane watch for the central provinces of Sancti Spiritus, Ciego de Avila, Camaguey, Las Tunas and Granma, the center said. A watch means that hurricane conditions are possible in the area within 36 hours.

Hurricane Ike, which made landfall in eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm in early September, killed four and prompted Cuban authorities to evacuate as many as 2 million people, or almost a fifth of the population. In late August, Hurricane Gustav hit the island with 150 mph winds, leading to evacuations.

Miss Refineries

The center’s five-day projection shows the system crossing central Cuba and then moving over the central Bahamas and toward the open Atlantic Ocean early next week.

“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the center said.

AccuWeather.com meteorologist Dale Mohler said Paloma should miss refineries in the Gulf of Mexico and in Saint Croix. The Gulf is home to about one-quarter of U.S. oil production.

“Paloma’s path will take it well away from refineries,” Mohler said in an e-mailed statement. “It could be very bad news for the people of Cuba, but it won’t impact energy interests.”

Paloma is the 16th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Forecasters predicted the season would see an above-average number of storms. Colorado State University researchers projected at least 17 major storms, including nine hurricanes, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said there would be 14 to 18 named storms.

Bertha, Gustav

Hurricanes Bertha, Gustav, Ike and Omar reached major hurricane status of at least Category 3, with winds greater than 111 mph.

Paloma is similar to Hurricane Michelle of November 2001, which took just three days to intensify from a tropical depression into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of at least 131 mph, Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters wrote on his blog.

Bloomberg.com:

Continue reading »]]> Authorities worked to contain oil spills after Hurricane Omar sank boats near the coasts of the Virgin Islands. St. Croix authorities were trying to contain oil spills after more than 40 boats sank or washed ashore during Hurricane Omar.

About half the vessels lost their anchors, including houseboats, catamarans and pricey yachts and sailboats owned by tourists. The other half were tied at marinas but broke loose, Carlos Fachette, enforcement director for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said Friday.

The hurricane caught many local boaters off-guard because they did not take the storm seriously, according to Kim Jones of the St. Croix Yacht Club.

“It’s devastating,” she said of the damage. “That puts a brake into people getting into boating, which is such a way of life in the Caribbean. It’s going to take a lot to rebound.”

Roughly 400 boats are registered in St. Croix, she said.

Omar became a tropical storm again Friday night, far from land in the Atlantic Ocean.

Police on Friday also had to rescue three people from a 35-foot catamaran when it hit a reef and ran aground near Salt River Bay, Fachette said.

All St. Croix beaches have been deemed unsafe because of high pollution levels, and the Schooner Channel area of the Christiansted Harbor remained closed.

Omar passed overnight Wednesday between St. Martin and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the government has spent more than US$1 million in cleanup costs.

The storm caused more than US$700,000 in damages to roads in St. Croix and destroyed more than 100 utility poles in the eastern region. About half of the island’s 55,000 people remained with power on Friday, said Cassandra Dunn, Water and Power Authority spokeswoman.

“Restoring power to some areas is going to take time,” she said.

St. Croix also reported heavy crop damage, as did Antigua, where Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer warned of a produce shortage, saying the farming community “appears to have suffered an extensive loss of crops.”

“No one is reported to have perished in this disaster,” Spencer said late Thursday, hours after Omar blew past the Lesser Antilles islands as a Category 3 hurricane. “We are, nonetheless, faced with a natural disaster of serious proportions.”

The crop damage comes amid spiraling food prices in the Caribbean and around the world.

On Saturday morning, Omar was located about 775 miles east of Bermuda and had weakened to a tropical storm with top winds of 60 mph. It posed no threat to land and forecasters say it should keep weakening as it heads farther out into energy-sapping cold waters.

Islands try to contain oil spills caused by Omar – Yahoo! News

Continue reading »]]> CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands – Hurricane Omar weakened Thursday as it quickly moved away from the Caribbean through the northern Leeward Islands without causing major damage.

The powerful core of the storm, with the most intense winds, passed overnight between St. Martin and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, said Lixion Avila, a hurricane specialist with the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

“It could have been worse,” Avila said. “They were very, very lucky.”

A last-minute shift to the east spared St. Croix, the most populated of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which received just a glancing blow from the weaker side of the system.

Omar knocked down trees, caused some flooding and minor mudslides but there were no immediate reports of deaths or major damage in the U.S. Virgin Islands, said Mark Walters, director of the disaster management agency for the U.S. Caribbean territory.

The nearby British Virgin Islands also emerged largely unscathed, said Deputy Gov. Inez Archibald, noting there was little damage beyond some mudslides and scattered debris.

“We did reasonably well actually,” Inez told The Associated Press. “We did not get what we expected.”

Omar began weakening as it headed over the ocean. By late Thursday morning, it was centered about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and moving northeast about 23 mph (37 kmh). It had maximum winds of 85 mph (140 kmh).

Omar was taking an unusual southwest-to-the-northeast track toward the central North Atlantic, well away from the U.S. mainland.

In St. Martin, roads were flooded and littered with tree branches and other debris, but authorities planned to lift a curfew Thursday afternoon and reopen the main airport on Friday.

On the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, which was brushed by the storm, people returned to their homes from shelters where they spent the night and awaited the resumption of ferry service to the mainland of the U.S. island territory. Lingering bands of the storm were expected to bring rain and rough seas.

“Everything was calm, nothing happened,” said Joselyn Ponce of the local office of emergency services.

One death was reported on Puerto Rico’s tiny island of Culebra. Authorities say a 55-year-old man collapsed from cardiac arrest while trying to install storm shutters on his house.

The island’s Hovensa oil refinery, one of the 10 largest in the world, shut down operations for the storm. Hovensa was expected to conduct an inspection for any damage before deciding whether to restart the refinery.

Hurricane Omar forced at least three cruise ships to change course and flights were canceled on several islands.

Hurricane Omar moves through northern Caribbean – Yahoo! News

Continue reading »]]> CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands – Schools and businesses closed and shelters opened Wednesday on several Caribbean islands in the path of Hurricane Omar, which could rev up to a Category 2 storm before coming ashore overnight.

U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. John deJongh closed all public schools, told government employees to head home at midmorning and imposed a 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) curfew on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John. He also activated the National Guard.

To the west in Puerto Rico, government offices closed early, adding to traffic jams as islanders headed home or sought emergency provisions.

One death was reported in the neighboring island of Culebra. Authorities say a 55-year-old man collapsed from cardiac arrest while trying to install storm shutters on his house.

In the British Virgin Islands, residents flocked to supermarkets for supplies. To protect against deadly shocks from downed power lines, the electricity will be turned off across the territory once winds reach 40 mph (65 kph), said government spokeswoman Sandra Ward.

“Hospitals are in emergency mode,” Ward told The Associated Press. “They have generators and confirmed they have backup generators filled with diesel and ready to go.”

In St. Croix, the Hovensa LLC oil refinery, the second-largest in the Western Hemisphere, was shutting down until after the storm passes, said spokesman Alex Moorehead. St. Croix is the most-populous of the U.S. Virgin Islands with more than 50,000 people. It stood in the direct path of the late-season storm, which could grow into a Category 2 storm before driving over the islands after midnight.

Hurricane warnings were also in place for Antigua, St. Martin, St. Kitts and Nevis and other islands.

The storm forced diversion of Carnival’s Triumph cruise ship to Jamaica and Grand Cayman, away from stops in St. Thomas and San Juan, spokeswoman Joyce Oliva said. Carnival’s Glory ship canceled a stop in St. Maarten on Wednesday and will instead visit Grand Turk.

Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas also canceled stops in St. Thomas and St. Maarten, opting to visit Grand Cayman and Cozumel in Mexico instead.

Officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands expected to cancel all flights Wednesday afternoon. In Puerto Rico, American Eagle, Delta, Jet Blue, Spirit, LIAT, Cape Air and Vieques Air Link canceled flights and US Airways said it expected to cancel a Philadelphia-bound flight on Thursday.

Authorities in Puerto Rico prepared shelters in Vieques and Culebra and planned to evacuate elderly residents from the two small islands off the east coast of the main island.

Omar was a Category 1 hurricane with winds near 85 mph (140 kph).

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Omar was expected to plow over the northeastern Caribbean islands then head into the central North Atlantic, well away from the U.S. mainland.

Omar’s center was located about 235 miles (380 kilometers) south-southwest of St. Croix and 235 (380 kilometers) miles south-southwest of St. Croix, at 2 p.m. (1800GMT) Wednesday and was moving northeast near 13 mph (21 kph).

Meanwhile, another tropical depression was hugging the coast of Honduras, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for the area.

Gov’t offices close, shelters open in Caribbean

Continue reading »]]> MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — Omar strengthen to a hurricane Tuesday night as it churned in Caribbean waters near Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center said.

Omar formed Tuesday in the eastern Caribbean and dumped heavy rain on the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao off the coast of Venezuela. At 11 p.m. ET, its center was about 315 miles (505 km) south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The storm was moving northeast near 6 mph (9 kph).

Omar’s maximum sustained winds were 75 mph (120 kph), making it a minimal Category 1 hurricane. Hurricane force winds extended outward up to 15 miles (30 km) from Omar’s center. Tropical storm-force winds extend 90 miles (145 km) from Omar’s center, forecasters said.

“Omar would move through the northern Leeward Islands Wednesday night,” the hurricane center said

A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning were in effect Tuesday night for Puerto Rico. Hurricane warning were in effect for many other islands in the area.

The storm is generally expected to dump up to 8 inches of rain over some areas, with 12 inches possible in some areas, the hurricane center said.

Some portions of Puerto Rico could get up to 20 inches of rain and the storm could produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, according to the forecast.

Also, the storm could produce large swells affecting the west- and south-facing coasts of the Lesser Antilles, of which the Leeward Islands are a part. The swells could cause beach erosion and damage coastal structures, the hurricane center said..

Omar is the 15th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Omar becomes a hurricane

Continue reading »]]> CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands – Omar strengthened into a hurricane late Tuesday and drenched islands in the southeastern Caribbean, downing trees and blowing off a school’s roof as it menaced U.S. islands.

Authorities issued a hurricane warning for the U.S. Virgin islands as well as Puerto Rico’s Vieques and Culebra islands. Hurricane warnings were also in place for St. Martin, the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis and other islands.

Officials in Puerto Rico, already soaked from several days of rain, warned residents to prepare for a lot more and medical authorities appealed for blood donations for possible casualties.

Omar was a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph (120 kph) winds, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami projected it to continue to gain strength.

The center predicted the storm would likely pass by Puerto Rico overnight Wednesday, and possibly deliver a direct blow to the nearby U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, business grew steadily at a St. Thomas supermarket Tuesday afternoon as people bought batteries, water and canned goods. Outside, rain fell as Darrell George tugged an overloaded shopping cart topped with a case of large water jugs.

“I try my best to get everything I need and my family needs, so I don’t get caught with my pants down,” George said. “With what has been going on lately, we can’t take anything for granted.”

Emergency management director Mark Walters urged islanders to take the warnings seriously.

“This is the time to take those precautions, in terms of getting your family and your personal selves ready for the storm,” he said.

Classes and ferry services were canceled in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Several large trees in the Dutch island of Aruba toppled over because the ground was so saturated. The roof over a teachers’ lounge and office at an Aruba school flew off. No injuries were reported.

The hurricane center said Omar was expected to plow over the Caribbean islands then head northeast toward the central North Atlantic, well away from the U.S. mainland.

At 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT) Tuesday, Omar’s center was located about 315 miles (505 kilometers) south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to the center. It was moving east-northeast at near 6 mph (9 kph).

A new tropical depression also formed Tuesday and was moving slowly off the coast of northeastern Honduras.

Hurricane Omar batters Aruba, heads for US islands – Yahoo! News

Continue reading »]]> PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Dozens of people evacuated their flooded homes on Saturday as Hurricane Norbert lashed the Baja California peninsula in Mexico with torrential rains and screaming winds.

The hurricane, with winds of up to 105 miles per hour, was expected to hit land along a sparsely populated stretch north of Cabo San Lucas, a resort on the peninsula’s tip, the United States National Hurricane Center said. It was expected to make a second landfall on Saturday night on the mainland of northwestern Mexico, the center said.

Residents fled to shelters as floodwaters rose in their homes. In the town of Puerto San Carlos, winds bent palm trees, and water was knee deep on some streets.

“We left our house because we were scared,” said Maria Espinosa, 54. “Our house is pretty poor, and the water was already coming in.” She had arrived at a high school with her daughter and two grandchildren, joining about 60 other people sitting on foam mattresses and blankets.

A hurricane warning was issued for the west coast of Baja California from Puerto San Andresito to Agua Blanca.

Hurricane Nears Baja California – NYTimes.com