Hurricane 'Ivan' Leaves up to 33 Dead in Caribbean

10/09/2004| IslamWeb

Hurricane Ivan hurtled toward Jamaica after devastating the Caribbean island of Grenada, where up to 24 people died, and killing nine others in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Tobago. The deadly storm packed winds of up to 230 kilometers (145 miles) per hour as it headed for Jamaica where the authorities ordered the population to rush to take emergency precautions before a predicted impact on Friday. Ivan's powerful winds made it a category four storm on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale. Twelve people were confirmed killed on Grenada and the toll is expected to climb, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) said. A Trinidad radio station FM 95.5 said there were 24 dead in Grenada, but that was not immediately confirmed. In the Dominican Republic, four youths drowned in rough surf churned by Ivan, civil defense officials said. There were also four dead in Venezuela, according to the national authorities, and one in Tobago. At 0600 GMT, the center of the storm was about 360 kilometers (225 miles) southeast of Kingston, the capital of densely populated Jamaica, the US National Hurricane Center said. Hurricane force winds extend outward from Ivan's eye up to 85 kilometers (50 miles) and tropical storm force winds extend 280 kilometers (175 miles), it added. Jamaica and the Cayman Islands both were under hurricane warning, with parts of Haiti, the Dominican Republica and Cuba under a hurricane watch. **PHOTO CAPTION*** People board up a store as they prepare for Hurricane Ivan in Kingston, Jamaica. (AFP)