Hurricane kills 30

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 13

Hurricane kills 30

NZPA-AP Kingston Hurricane Gilbert slammed into Jamaica yesterday with torrential rains and 185 km/h winds, ripping the roofs off buildings and causing flash floods and mudslides. One report said 30 people were killed. Radio Cayman reported 30 deaths across Jamaica as the brunt of the storm lashed the island. It said hundreds of families fled their homes because of rising floodwaters. •

The telephone service to Jamaica was severely hampered. Radio Cayman’s broadcast was monitored in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The storm pounded Kingston on the southwest coast, knocking down power lines, uprooting trees and flattening fences. On the north coast, 6m waves hit Ocho Rios, a popular resort where tourists were taken from hotels. In Cuba, 115,000 people were moved from their homes as a precaution in five eastern provinces when Gilbert’s winds brushed the island, said Prensa Latina, the Government

news agency. Authorities in Kingston said looters stole mattresses from a hospital, the roof was torn off a home for physically handicapped people and a firefighter was hurt when heavy winds blew him off his truck. The National Hurricane Centre in Coral Gables, Florida, said, “The hurricane is moving toward the west near 17 m.p.h. (27.4 km/ h>.” “This motion will bring the centre of the hurricane over or near Grand Cayman in the early morning hours tomorrow.” The Cayman Islands, south of Cuba, are flat and have few sheltered areas, the centre said. Only minor injuries were reported in Kingston, the capital city, which has a population of 750,000. The initial 30-minute shock of the storm let up as the hurricane’s eye moved across the city. Skies brightened, winds died and people waited for an hour before the second blow arrived.