Two separate storms charged through the Caribbean on Wednesday, one poised to strike the Florida Panhandle and the stronger Hurricane Charley drenching Jamaica with heavy rain.
Millions of people in the region were on alert as the hurricane and Tropical Storm Bonnie churned on paths that weather forecasters said could deliver a double whammy to parts of Florida.
Charley had sustained winds of 121 kph, just at the threshold for hurricane status, as it headed on a course that would take its eye just south of Jamaica, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Forecasters expected the system to sweep over the Cayman Islands, a British colony and offshore finance center, then Cuba, home to about 11 million people, yesterday before hitting the lower Florida Keys early today.
Jamaican businesses were shuttered, universities suspended exams and hospitals sent patients home as people rushed to shops and gas stations to stock up on emergency supplies.
Emergency management officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or deaths in Jamaica but scores of emergency shelters opened across the island of 2.7 million people.
Bonnie was hampering Gulf oil and gas operations and was poised to strike the Florida Panhandle within a day, prompting authorities to issue a hurricane warning for the area.
It was growing stronger as it moved closer to the coast. It had sustained winds of 105 kph and could become a hurricane on Wednesday night or this morning.
Energy companies evacuated workers from 108 production platforms and 37 rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency as the storms approached, setting the wheels in motion for emergency shelters to open. Around 8,000 National Guard personnel were on alert.
Charley forced Air Jamaica, British Airways, American Airlines and BWIA to cancel flights and a cruise ship was diverted from a stop in Montego Bay. A caller to a radio station said there were mudslides along Jamaica's eastern coast and the Yallahs River in the eastern parish of St Thomas.
Authorities in the Florida Keys issued a mandatory evacuation order to visitors, telling them to pack up and leave immediately. It can take days to completely evacuate the 160 km chain of islands and many tourists were unable to book flights, hotel managers said.
In Key West, restaurants and bars were urged to close early yesterday. City-operated buildings were already shuttered on Wednesday but most private shops and homes were not. Duval Street, popular with tourists, was bustling.
"Que sera, que sera (What will be, will be)," said Arthur Murphy of Fort Myers, Florida, celebrating his 72nd birthday at the popular Sloppy Joe's bar, which was frequented by Ernest Hemingway.
At 5pm EDT (5am yesterday in Taiwan) Wednesday, Charley's center was 135 km southwest of Kingston, at latitude 17 North and longitude 77.5 West, the hurricane center said.
It was expected to carry 7.5 to 15 cm of rain and and large waves to Jamaica and the Caymans.
Bonnie's center at 5pm EDT (5am yesterday in Taiwan) Wednesday was about 270 km south of the mouth of the Mississippi River at latitude 26.7 north and longitude 89.3 west. It was moving to the northeast at about 19 kph and was expected to hit land between Pensacola and Panama City early today, possibly as a hurricane.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
RSS