Hurricane Ike Downgraded as It Rips through Cuba, Heads towards the Keys
Although it has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, Hurricane Ike's winds and massive storm surge ripped apart houses and toppled trees Monday as the deadly storm roared across Cuba toward Havana.
Forecasters said it could enter the Gulf of Mexico next, with Louisiana among the likely targets.
More than 770,000 Cubans evacuated to shelters or higher ground ahead of the Category 3 hurricane, which earlier raked the Bahamas and worsened floods in Haiti that have already killed at least 319 people.
"We are preparing for a strong hit," Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage told state television.
On Florida's Key West, tourists and residents alike were ordered to evacuate ahead of Ike's expected arrival Tuesday and a steady stream of traffic filled the highway from the island. Ike was forecast to make landfall later in the week between the Florida Panhandle and the Texas coast -- with New Orleans once again in the cross-hairs.
The hurricane also slowed efforts to bring oil and gas production back online in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Gustav.
Published on September 8, 2008
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