Hurricane Dean bore down on Jamaica early yesterday amid concerns it could become "a potentially catastrophic" category five storm capable of causing death and widespread destruction.
Tourists fled resorts in the path of the storm and residents battened down as the massive swell skirted the Dominican Republic and plowed toward Jamaica, the Caymans and the Mexican coast.
A boy of 16 was reported dead and several injured in the Dominican Republic as Dean swept by to the south, sending great waves crashing onto its shores, Santo Domingo province Governor Eladio Martinez said on the radio.
PHOTO: AFP
Haiti ordered flights and coastal shipping suspended through yesterday and prepared to evacuate seaside regions in Dean's path as the storm appeared poised to pass next to the country at midday.
Jamaica, dead at the center of the storm's expected track, went on full alert, closing down airports, as hundreds of thousands flocked to markets and gasoline stations to stock up on essentials.
"Dean could become a potentially catastrophic category five hurricane at any time before it reaches Yukatan," the US National Hurricane Center warned in a statement issued in Miami, Florida.
Category five hurricanes can bring huge storm surges of 5.5m or more and can require the massive evacuation of areas as far inland as 10km.
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller called on all off-duty police officers, firefighters and prison warders to report for work in an effort to reinforce security and rescue operations.
Curfews of 48 hours were imposed in a number of areas, mandatory evacuation of low lying and flood prone areas was ordered, and the country's two main airports in Port-Au-Prince and Montego Bay were closed.
Jamaican television showed long lines at gas stations and empty shelves in super markets as consumers prepared for what could be days of heavy rain.
In Cuba, authorities began evacuating tens of thousands of people in six eastern provinces to save them from possible flooding and destruction as Dean sweeps by.
The civil defense authorities said 35,000 people were targeted by the evacuation order in the southeastern province of Holguin alone. Tourist programs were also suspended across the island, it said.
The Mexican government has called a state of emergency and state oil company Pemex launched its hurricane response plan, shutting down production platforms and evacuating personnel, as Dean appeared headed toward its southern Gulf of Mexico oilfields and the refining center of Tampico.
Quintana Roo Governor Felix Gonzalez ordered the evacuation of the 80,000 tourists from Cancun and other popular barrier islands of the "Mayan Riviera" and blocked the further arrival of more tourists to the area.
"We can evacuate 30,000 tourists by air every day. That gives us enough time to leave hotel occupancy at a minimum, with a reasonable number of guests we can assist and put up in shelters" when the storm strikes, Gonzalez said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number