Read bold:SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Sept. 15) -- Tropical Storm Jeanne strengthened and threatened to became a hurricane Wednesday as it headed for Puerto Rico, where residents put up hurricane shutters, crowded supermarkets and prepared to evacuate low-lying areas.
''It just never stops!'' said Merce Roca, a real estate agent in the old colonial section of San Juan where she spent hours bolting her mansion's large wooden doors and pulling tropical plants in from her courtyard. ''It seems like we've been doing this every day.''
The storm was expected to hit the U.S. territory's southwest coast by Wednesday afternoon, prompting a hurricane warning in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
''It's going to be a close call for Puerto Rico,'' said Chris Hennon, a meteorologist with the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. ''Jeanne will probably become a hurricane Wednesday.''
At 5 a.m., Jeanne's center was 25 miles southwest of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where there were unconfirmed reports of a gust up to 88 mph, the Hurricane Center said.
Maximum sustained winds were near 65 mph, just 14 mph short of becoming a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on a scale of five. Winds extended 40 miles from the center.
Jeanne became the 10th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season Tuesday and was moving west-northwest near 8 mph.
''It just never stops!'' said Merce Roca, a real estate agent in the old colonial section of San Juan where she spent hours bolting her mansion's large wooden doors and pulling tropical plants in from her courtyard. ''It seems like we've been doing this every day.''
In the past two weeks, the region has seen three major hurricanes - Charley, Frances and the deadliest of them all, Ivan, which killed 68 people in the Caribbean. Ivan was near the mouth of the Mississippi River, threatening to hit the U.S. mainland on Thursday.
''I think we're going to have a lot of flooding,'' said Paul Kelly, a 39-year-old restaurant owner buying bottled water in a crowded supermarket. ''But I'm putting up hurricane shutters ... just in case.''
The Dominican Republic issued a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning for portions of its north and south coasts. A tropical storm warning covered the British Virgin Islands and St. Kitts and Nevis.
American Airlines canceled 17 flights leaving San Juan and six to the city on Wednesday, said Minnette Velez, a spokeswoman for the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline.
Puerto Rico Gov. Sila Calderon activated Puerto Rico's emergency agencies and urged islanders in low-lying areas to evacuate to schools on higher ground.
Government offices, schools and courts and banks were closed Wednesday, and casinos - which draw thousands of tourists to the U.S. territory each day and have to be inspected by government officials - would likely remain idle. Mail would not be delivered.
Shell Chemicals, meanwhile, shut a petrochemical refinery in Puerto Rico's southeastern town of Yabacoa.
Between 8 and 10 inches of rainfall was expected in Puerto Rico, which last was struck by Hurricane Georges in 1998.
The U.S. Virgin Islands emergency management agency gave sandbags to residents in low-lying areas and told them to be prepared to evacuate. The storm was not forecast to directly strike the territory of 110,000 residents, but it was expected to dump several inches of rain on the three islands.
09/15/04 07:25 EDT |
