Hurricane Ike Makes Second Cuba Landfall

MIAMI, Fla. (MCT) - Hurricane Ike made a second Cuban landfall Tuesday in the western Pinar Del RIo province after killing four people across the island nation and blowing tropical storm-force winds into the Florida Keys.

Because the storm's outer bands aren't expected to fully clear the Keys until Wednesday, Monroe County schools will remain closed another day and reopen Thursday.

The Category 1 storm was moving northwest through Cuba, its eye passing about 50 miles from Havana, and was expected to emerge in the Gulf of Mexico later Tuesday. Ike could restrengthen to a major Category 3 hurricane by the time it makes a Gulf Coast landfall, which could be early Saturday in Texas.

A 75-mph wind gust was reported Tuesday in Havana, while a Key West weather station had a 54-mph gust.People in Key West woke up Tuesday to some wind, a little rain and no major damage. There was some flooding and debris littered the southeast end of the island, caused primarily from high tides and rough surf washing up on the road, but rain was light.

For many locals, the windy morning was a chance to walk their dogs and get a glimpse of Mother Nature at work.''We all want to go surfing, but it's a little too rough,'' Christy Moseley said. ``And it's too windy to surf. It's hard to just stand here and not get blown away.''

Marianne Brassard, a painting contractor, chimed in: ``Too windy to go kiteboarding, too.''But it wasn't too windy to skateboard. One shirtless teenage boy was doing so down Duval Street, taking advantage of the low traffic on the usually busy main tourist drag.

Monroe County authorities said residents who evacuated should remain at a safe distance until the storm passes and an all-clear is given, likely Wednesday.

And once Ike clears, the tropics might stay quiet for the near future. There are no weather disturbances currently on the radar between Africa and the Caribbean.''Looks like we're going to have a lull for at least a week,'' Florida meteorologist Ben Nelson said.

Ike prompted the evacuation of an estimated 1.2 million people in Cuba, who were ordered to seek safety with friends, relatives or at government shelters.

The government closed schools and government offices in the capital of Havana as people reinforced windows with wood and formed long lines at bakeries. Along the seaside Malecon promenade, businesses were being shut down.

Hurricane Ike demolished many homes in the Turks and Caicos Islands and southern Bahamas. Its rains helped contribute to flooding that killed at least 331 people in Haiti.

Ike made landfall in eastern Cuba as a powerful Category 3 storm late Sunday and has raked west across the country.
In Santa Cruz del Sur in Camaguey, state media said the sea had penetrated nearly a half-mile inland. Neighborhoods surrounding the River Jatibonico were flooded.

''The old houses couldn't take it and collapsed,'' Manolo Banegas said in a telephone interview from Camaguey. ''Many of the rivers are overflowing in the outskirts of the city. In the suburbs, streets are even more flooded.'' Also in the central part of Camaguey, there were reports that the wind blew the roof off the historic theater built in 1850. The cultural center and bank were also seriously damaged, and the cupolas of historic buildings were smashed.

''It sounded like a cat in a lot of pain,'' Elena Martinez said by telephone from Camaguey. Her husband climbed their roof early Monday to survey damage and saw torn roofs for several blocks.

''In my whole life, I've never seen anything like this,'' Juan Carlos Figueira, 40, said from Holguin, where Ike made its first Cuban landfall. ``There are many houses partially knocked down, trees are knocked down. There are many telephone lines on the ground. We don't have electricity since yesterday and don't know when we will get it back, because many posts are down.''

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(Staff writers Liza Gross, Frances Robles, Marc Caputo, Charles Rabin and translator Renato Perez contributed to this report.)

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© 2008, The Miami Herald.