Tropical Storm Floods Jamaica as Louisiana Prepares

[marmar]

from Bloomberg:



Tropical Storm Floods Jamaica as Louisiana Prepares (Update2)

By Alex Morales

Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Gustav pounded Jamaica with rain, flooding streets and causing landslides, as Louisiana prepared for the system to strengthen into a hurricane before hitting areas devastated by Katrina in 2005.

Gustav packed sustained winds of 65 miles (105 kilometers) an hour and was centered near the western tip of Jamaica, 100 miles west-northwest of the capital, Kingston, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on its Web site at 8 a.m. Miami time. Heading west-northwest at 8 mph, Gustav was predicted to bring as much as 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

``The whole island is affected by the system: It's still moving very slowly and dumping a lot of rain,'' Kerry-Ann Morris, a spokeswoman for Jamaica's Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, said today in a telephone interview from Kingston. The office reported ``extensive flooding'' and ``several'' landslides, and said 1,520 people were in shelters.

The storm's approach prompted the evacuation of Gulf of Mexico oil workers. The governors of Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi declared emergencies, and some Louisiana parishes prepared to evacuate residents.

There were no confirmed reports of casualties in Jamaica, where conditions were ``calm'' at 4 a.m. after ``horizontal rain'' earlier, Morris said. In Haiti, 51 people were killed, Agence France-Presse reported. In the neighboring Dominican Republic, eight people died and two were hurt in a landslide, the country's Center of Emergency Operations said on its Web site. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQBgHsecUke8&refer=home

[MaryEllen9399]

1. Malaise, are you ok? nt