/ 7 September 2004

Hurricane Ivan rips off roofs in Barbados

Hurricane Ivan strengthened on Tuesday as it passed near Barbados, with hurricane-force winds bending palm trees and blowing off roofs just days after Hurricane Frances tore through the Caribbean.

Ivan raced toward the Windward Islands with sustained winds of 175kph, making it a category-three hurricane. Forecasters said the storm could become a category four late on Tuesday.

A hurricane warning was issued for St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and its dependencies. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Martinique, St Lucia and Barbados, where the island’s 280 000 residents were preparing for the worst.

“Ivan poses a direct and serious threat,” Prime Minister Owen Arthur said after an emergency Cabinet session on Monday.

Government offices closed early and children were ordered to remain home as teachers helped convert school buildings into hurricane shelters.

“It’s still a strong hurricane,” said Eric Blake, a meteorologist at the United States National Hurricane Centre in Miami. “Barbados and other islands could see trees blown down [and] roof damage, and it doesn’t take much wind to damage crops.”

Those predictions quickly became reality. Barbados felt 128kph hurricane force winds by midmorning on Tuesday, said Jennifer Pralgo, another meteorologist at the hurricane centre. The force bent palm trees, taking some down.

Several islanders called private Voice of Barbados 92.9 FM radio to report that winds ripped off their roofs completely and others said they had minor roof damage. No injuries have been reported.

Authorities shut down electricity island-wide as a precautionary measure to prevent electrocution after fallen trees brought down power lines. Skies were dark, but there has been very little rain.

At 8am local time, the hurricane’s eye was about 175km south-southeast of Barbados. It was moving west near 30kph and was expected to turn gradually toward the west-northwest later on Tuesday.

Residents struggled to put up metal hurricane shutters.

Islanders also rushed to buy supplies such as lanterns, kerosene, bottled water, canned food, flashlights and batteries. Long lines formed at gas stations.

The manager of Dacosta Mannings hardware store in Bridgetown reported a heavy influx of shoppers.

“People were here before the store opened and when it did they rushed for the hurricane-preparedness centre,” Donna Susan Hinds said.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 110km from Ivan’s centre while tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 260km.

Ivan became the fourth major hurricane of the season on Sunday afternoon, following Hurricane Frances, which left at least two dead in the Bahamas and carved out a path of destruction that stretched from the Turks and Caicos Islands to the US state of Florida.

Ivan could threaten Florida but it is too early to tell, meteorologists said. It is also forecast to move over St Lucia, a former British colony of 165 000 residents.

“We have a major deadly storm approaching St Lucia and we need to be prepared,” said Dawn French, director of the island’s National Emergency Management Office.

St Lucia’s Prime Minister, Dr Kenny Anthony, called an emergency planning meeting and ordered all government offices and businesses closed on Tuesday.

St Lucians crammed into supermarkets to buy supplies including candles, batteries and bottled water.

“I’m taking no chances. This one looks serious,” said 27-year-old shopper Cuthbert Lyons, who is St Lucian but is on vacation from Britain.

Agriculture Minister Ignatius Jean worried about the storm’s possible effects on the important banana industry in the region.

In 2002, Hurricane Lili destroyed half of St Lucia’s banana crop. The Caribbean banana industry has struggled to deal with a 50% decline in production over the past decade, due to both droughts and hurricanes.

Unlike the Bahamas and the British territory of the Turks and Caicos where Hurricane Frances blew roofs off and snapped trees in half, many of the Windward islands are poorer, with old wooden structures in areas prone to flooding. — Sapa-AP

Associated Press writer Guy Ellis contributed to this report from St Lucia