JAMAICA: Jamaicans begin cleanup after Hurricane Dean strikes southen coast of Caribbean island

Hurricane Dean buffeted Jamaica's southern coast, flooding the capital and littering it with broken trees and roofs as it tore through the Caribbean on Monday (August 20). Nine people died. Dean was described as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, the second-highest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center said it could strengthen to a potentially catastrophic Category 5 over the next 24 hours. It's now heading towards Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The eye of the storm passed just south of Jamaica but the intense wall of winds around the calm centre pummeled the island. Sheets of rain pelted the capital, Kingston, and roads were blocked by toppled trees, utility poles and smashed roofs. The wind howled over the island nation of 3 million people and pounding waves battered the southern coast. Mudslides were reported in several parts of the mountainous country. Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller declared a month-long state of emergency and called a cabinet meeting to discuss the potential impact on August 27 general elections. At least one man was missing after falling trees tore into his house and officials urged people to evacuate their homes and seek safety. Police said they shot and wounded two men caught trying to break into a business in the capital during the storm. Local media reported 17 fishermen and women had been stranded on the Pedro Cays, a small island chain, directly in the path of the hurricane. The government urged residents to go to shelters. But many people refused to flee. Category 5 hurricanes are rare but in 2005 there were four, including Katrina, reinforcing research that suggests global warming may increase the strength of tropical cyclones.

ITN Source | August 21, 2007

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