Hurricane Ike's five-day forecast released at 11 p.m. Sunday by the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

RELATED STORIES

• Houston area begins evacuations as Hurricane Ike nears
• Collier in ‘emergency’ mode, Lee ‘prepared’ for Ike
• Bonita Springs council declares state of emergency due to Hurricane Ike
• Collier emergency managers: Still need to closely watch Hurricane Ike
• Lots of rain, some flooding as Hanna heads inland
• In Florida, those who weathered Andrew warily eye Ike
• Fay-soaked Golden Gate Estates prepares for the possibility of Ike
• Hurricane supplies to have on hand

Related Links

• Get more hurricane news, find out how to prepare for a storm and watch our special "EYE ON THE STORM" video series!
• Severe Weather Guide 2008: All the news and information you need to prepare for and monitor the hurricane season.

More Hurricane 2008

• Hundreds of FPL customers in Lee, Collier lose power for few hours
• PHOTOS: Manna Christian owners get more time to clean up Fay-flooded trailer park
• PHOTOS: Quiet hurricane season still a costly one for Collier, Lee counties

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Share and Enjoy [?]

NASSAU, Bahamas — The National Hurricane Center in Miami says powerful Hurricane Ike has roared ashore in eastern Cuba.

The center said Ike slammed into Cuba's Holguin province at 9:45 p.m. EDT Sunday as a dangerous Category 3 storm.

At 11 p.m., Ike's center was located on the north coast of eastern Cuba near Cabo Lucrecia, about 135 miles east of Camaguey. The hurricane center says Ike is moving to the west near 13 mph and will be near or over central Cuba later Monday as it rakes the island.

Forecasters say Ike is expected to weaken as it moves across land in the coming days before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. Authorities are urging coastal dwellers along the Gulf from Florida to Mexico to monitor Ike because of its uncertain path.

At 8 p.m.

At 8 p.m., the center of Hurricane Ike was located about 60 miles north of Guantanamo, Cuba, the National Weather Service reports.

Ike is moving toward the west near 14 mph. A west to west-northwest motion is expected tonight and Monday. On this track, the core of the hurricane will move over eastern Cuba later tonight and early Monday and near or over central Cuba later on Monday, the weather service said.

Ike is still a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds near 120 mph but forecasters say some weakening is likely as Ike moves over eastern and central Cuba during the next day or so, the weather service said.

At 5 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says Ike has weakened to a Category 3 hurricane with winds near 120 mph approaching eastern Cuba.

At 5 p.m., the center of Hurricane Ike was located about 90 miles west of Great Inagua Island and about 75 miles north-northeast of Guantanamo, Cuba, the National Weather Service reports.

Ike is moving toward the west near 14 mph. A west to west-northwest motion is expected tonight and Monday.

On this track, the core of the hurricane will continue to move away from the southeastern Bahamas and over or near eastern Cuba tonight and tomorrow, the weather service said.

Posted earlier

Ike ripped off roofs, swept away boats and collapsed a bridge on the last road into a flooded Haitian city on Sunday as it roared over the southern Bahamas as a ferocious Category 4 hurricane. The Florida Keys evacuated and Cuba prepared for a direct hit.

Five adults and five children drowned in their homes or were swept to their deaths as Ike's driving rains hit Haiti, raising that country's death toll to 262 from four tropical storms in recent weeks.

With Sunday's downpours topping flooding from Hanna, Gustav and Fay, officials said they had no choice but to open an overflowing dam, inundating more homes and possibly causing lasting damage to Haiti's "rice bowl," a farming area whose revival is key to rescuing the starving country.

Ike's eye hit the Bahamas' Great Inagua island, where "ferocious" wind threatened to peel plywood from the windows of a church sheltering about 50 people, shelter manager Janice McKinney.

"Oh my God, I can't describe it," McKinney said, adding that the pastor led everyone in prayer while the winds howled.

Some of the strongest winds hit the low-lying British territory of Turks and Caicos, where Premier Michael Misick said more than 80 percent of the homes were destroyed, fishermen lost boats and people who didn't take refuge in shelters were cowering in closets and under stairwells, "just holding on for life."

"They got hit really, really bad," Misick said. "A lot of people have lost their houses, and we will have to see what we can do to accommodate them."

It was too early to know of any deaths or injuries on these islands.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Ike's eye was just east of Great Inagua Island in the southeastern Bahamas, with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph. It was moving west at 13 mph and was expected to remain a major hurricane as it approaches eastern Cuba, still about 130 miles away.

"All we can do is hunker down and pray," reserve police officer Henry Nixon said from a shelter on Great Inagua where about 85 people huddled around a radio.

Great Inagua, closer to Haiti than to the Bahamian capital of Nassau, is the southernmost island in the Bahamas archipelago. It has tens of thousands of pink West Indian flamingos — the world's largest breeding colony — and about 1,000 people. Both populations took shelter — the pink flamingos gathered under mangrove trees ahead of the storm.

"They know what to do. They always find the sheltered areas," Nixon said Sunday as Ike blew shingles off rooftops.

Rain drove in horizontal sheets and wind tore through roofs across the Turks and Caicos, which has little natural protection from an expected storm surge of up to 18 feet.

In South Caicos, a fishing-dependent island of 1,500 people, most homes were damaged, the airport was under water, power will be out for weeks, and every single boat was swept away despite being towed ashore for safety, Minister of Natural Resorces Piper Hanchell said.

Tourism chairman Wayne Garland was text-messaging with two people in Grand Turk during the height of the storm. "They were literally in their bathroom because their roofs were gone," he said. "Eventually they were rescued."

In Providenciales, there was flooding, roof damage and downed power lines but no injuries, he said.

"Fortunately, we were able to evacuate most of the people in low-lying areas to shelters, so thankfully I don't expect to have any injuries. We'll keep our fingers crossed that that's the case," Garland said as he left to assess the damage.

Ike's pelting rains couldn't have come at a worse time for Haiti. The Mirebalais bridge collapsed in the floods, cutting off the last land route into Gonaives, Agriculture Minister Joanas Gay told state-run Radio Nationale. Half the homes in Gonaives, Haiti's fourth-largest city, were already under water.

Gay warned residents in the surrounding Artibonite valley to evacuate immediately because an overflowing dam would have to be opened on Sunday, sending more water into the Gonaives floodplain. And in Gonaives itself, the waters were rising even as aid groups struggled to reach people with little or no access to food or water for days.

Heavy rains also pelted the Dominican Republic, Haiti's neighbor on the island of Hispaniola, where about 4,000 people were evacuated from northern coastal towns.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center projected Ike's eye would strike Cuba's northern coast Sunday night and possibly hit Havana, the capital of 2 million people with many vulnerable old buildings, by Monday night.

Cuba evacuated mountainous and coastal regions of Holguin province, and about 200 foreign tourists were brought out from the northern Santa Lucia beach resort. Workers rushed to protect coffee plants and other crops and organized food and cooking-oil distribution efforts.

At the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in southeast Cuba, all ferries were secured and beaches were off limits. The military said cells containing the detainees — about 255 men suspected of links to the Taliban and al-Qaida — are hurricane-proof.

"People have been forewarned for a day," Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Lamb said. "It's starting to get breezy."

Once Ike leaves Cuba, forecasters said the storm might swipe at the Florida Keys before moving into the Gulf of Mexico. Where it goes from there was harder to predict, leaving millions from Florida to Mexico wondering where it will eventually strike.

"These storms have a mind of their own," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said. Tourists were ordered out of the Keys on Saturday, and residents began evacuating Sunday, starting with the southernmost islands, along the narrow highway to the mainland.

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal set up a task force to prepare for more possible havoc only days after an historic, life-saving evacuation of more than 2 million people from Hurricane Gustav.

"Our citizens are weary and they're tired and they have spent a lot of money evacuating," worried New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. "It will be very difficult to move the kind of numbers out of this city that we moved during Gustav."

Off Mexico's Pacific coast, Tropical Storm Lowell was moving away from land.

Posted at 9 a.m.:

Hurricane Ike takes aim at Bahamas, Cuba

Hurricane Ike damaged most of the homes on Grand Turk island as it roared onto the Bahamas, raked Haiti's flooded cities with rain and threatened the Florida Keys on its way to Cuba as a ferocious Category 4 storm Sunday.

Turks and Caicos premier Michael Misick said Ike damaged more than 80 percent of the homes on Grand Turk and South Caicos islands. Hundreds lost their roofs and all the fishermen lost boats as the hurricane made a near-direct hit.

Hundreds took refuge in shelters. Others have been cowering in closets and under stairwells and "just holding on for life. They got hit really, really bad," Misick said Sunday morning. "A lot of people have lost their house, and we will have to see what we can do to accommodate them."

At 8 a.m. EDT, Ike's eye was just east of Great Inagua Island in the southeastern Bahamas, with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph. It was moving west-southwest at 14 mph and was expected to remain a major hurricane as it approaches eastern Cuba.

"It's looking terrible," said reserve police officer Henry Nixon from inside a shelter on the Bahamas' Great Inagua Island, where about 85 people huddled around a radio. "All we can do is hunker down and pray."

Great Inagua, which is closer to Haiti than to the Bahamian capital of Nassau, is the southernmost island in the Bahamas archipelago. It has the world's largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos, and about 1,000 people.

"Everybody is very concerned because of the strength of this one. They want to make sure they survive," administrator Preston Cunningham said after authorities went door-to-door urging residents to seek higher ground. All power was cut as a precaution Sunday morning, and about 135 people took refuge in shelters.

Grand Turk, the capital of the tiny British territory of Turks and Caicos, is home to about 3,000 people, and has little natural protection from the sea and expected storm surge of up to 18 feet. Rain was driving through in horizontal sheets early Sunday and wind was tearing through some roofs. It was too early to know of any deaths or injuries.

The airport in Providenciales closed after thousands of tourists and residents evacuated from the typically tranquil island chain.

Desiree Adams, along with 11 members of her family, could hear the winds through the storm shutters of her Grand Turk home. The power was out, but they had water and food and battery-powered lanterns if necessary.

"We're all just laying down looking up at the dark ceiling and talking," Adams, a personal adviser to the island chain's chief minister for tourism issues, said by mobile phone.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Ike's eye was expected to move over eastern Cuba Sunday night and into central Cuba by late Monday on a track that will likely take it into the Gulf of Mexico.

"These storms have a mind of their own," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said as tourists were ordered out of the vulnerable Florida Keys on Saturday. Authorities planned a phased evacuation for residents Sunday morning, starting with the southernmost islands. "What we have to do is be prepared, be smart, vigilant and alert."

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal set up a task force to prepare for the possibility of more havoc after getting slammed by Hurricane Gustav.

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in southeast Cuba went on "condition of readiness one" early Sunday morning, meaning all ferries were secured, beaches were off limits and private cars were banned from roads at the U.S. base, where some 255 men suspected of links to the Taliban and al-Qaida live in what the military says are hurricane-proof cells.

"People have been forewarned for a day," Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Lamb said. "It's starting to get breezy."

The approach of the hurricane also raised alarm in Haiti, where floods from Tropical Storm Hanna killed at least 167 people by Saturday. Hundreds fled the waterlogged city of Gonaives as Ike approached, and international aid groups were struggling to reach people with little or no access to food or water for days.

"We are very concerned about Ike," said Holly Inurreta of Catholic Relief Services. "Any bit more of rain and Gonaives will be cut off again."

Heavy rains also were pelting Haiti's neighbor on the island of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic, where about 4,000 people were evacuated from northern coastal towns.

Cuba, which suffered a devastating hit from Gustav, was directly in Ike's projected path, and warned its people to be ready.

Just ahead of Ike's arrival, the Bahamas government had urged tourists to evacuate the sparsely populated southeastern islands and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force dispatched marines to bring food and water to the eastern islands of Mayaguana and San Salvador.

Off Mexico's Pacific coast, Tropical Storm Lowell was moving away from land.

From 5 a.m. Sunday:

Hurricane Ike could gain some strength from its 135 mph winds at Category 4 this morning before making landfall later on Cuba, according to the National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. update. Further, the storm's forecast track was moved back slightly closer to south Florida with the latest update.

Hurricane watches and warnings have been raised by the Bahamas, Cuba and authorities on Hispanola.

While the forecast track pushed Ike slightly closer to the U.S. from the 2 a.m. update, the storm is currently forecast to be 204 miles west-southwest of Naples at 2 a.m. on Wednesday packing winds of 92 mph after being over land on Cuba on Tuesday. Hurricane-force winds extend 45 miles from the center of Ike, while tropical-force winds extend 145 miles. The so-called "cone of probability" has inched back to near the Southwest Florida coast.

From 11 p.m. Saturday:

Hurricane Ike slammed into the Turks and Caicos on Saturday as a ferocious Category 4 storm, raking the low-lying island chain with ferocious winds as people hunkered down at home or in emergency shelters.

As the massive gray wall of clouds descended on the Turks and Caicos, shopkeepers and homeowners in the city of Providenciales frantically covered windows with plywood, and boats were hauled ashore or secured with multiple anchors.

"I am very, very nervous," said John Moore, a fishing boat captain, as he tied down his 61-foot vessel in a Providenciales cove. "It looks like it might go right over us, so that's not a good picture."

The outer-bands of the storm brought fierce, palm-bending winds and a scattering of rain. Still, people lingered in the darkened streets or outside a couple of convenience stores that stayed open for last-minute shoppers. People trickled into makeshift shelter in a vocational school in the Five Cays neighborhood, a poor area that experienced heavy flooding during Hanna.

"Once we get the fury of this thing, believe me, you will see this open up," said Colin Bascomb, the school's principal.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that Ike's eye was "near or over the Turks and Caicos" late Saturday night. It was moving west-southwest about 15 mph with maximum sustained winds were 135 mph (215 kph).

Desiree Adams, along with 11 members of her extended family, could hear the storm's powerful winds howling through the storm shutters of her Grand Turk home as Ike hit. The power was out, but they had water and food and battery-powered lanterns if necessary.

"We're all just laying down looking up at the dark ceiling and talking," Adams, a personal adviser to the island chain's chief minister for tourism issues, said by cell phone.

Grand Turk, the capital of the Turks and Caicos, is about six miles long, and home to about 3,000 people. Several hundred evacuated before the storm. It has little natural protection from the sea and expected storm surge, but Adams said she and her family were not afraid.

"We live by faith here," she said. "We believe in Jesus Christ so a lot of praying is going forth. There is going to be damage, no doubt, to infrastructure but that we can replace over time."

The approach of the hurricane also raised alarm in Haiti, where officials issued a tropical storm warning and feared it could worsen deadly flooding. And Cuba, still recovering from a devastating hit by Category 4 Hurricane Gustav last month, was directly in Ike's projected path.

Forecasters said Ike was expected to reach the northern coast of eastern Cuba Sunday night or early Monday. Cuba's government warned people to be ready to take emergency action, but hotels said they had not yet started evacuating foreign guests.

Guantanamo Bay Navy base in southeast Cuba will go on "condition of readiness one" at 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT), meaning all ferries will be secured, beaches will be off limits and private cars will be banned from roads, said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Lamb.

Lamb said the commander will lift the restrictions after the hurricane has passed and a damage assessment is made at the U.S. base, where some 255 men suspected on links to the Taliban and al-Qaida in what the military says are hurricane-proof cells.

Turks and Caicos Premier Michael Misick said his government opened shelters throughout the islands and brought in an emergency food shipment.

"We're still praying that the storm will make a northerly turn and we will be spared, even a little bit," Misick told The Associated Press.

Low-lying Turks and Caicos and the neighboring Bahamas are vulnerable to flooding from rain and storm surge.

To reach Haitian immigrants, many of them illegal, the government broadcast emergency messages in Creole and told law enforcement figures not to enforce immigration laws during the storm.

In the Bahamas, the government urged tourists to evacuate the sparsely populated southeastern islands and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force dispatched marines to bring food and water to the eastern islands of Mayaguana and San Salvador.

Turks and Caicos, a British territory, was pummeled for four days by Hurricane Hanna earlier this week. It caused widespread flooding and some damage, but did far worse when it drifted toward Haiti as a tropical storm, creating floods that had killed 166 people by Saturday.

Dennis Freeburg, who lives in Providenciales, managed to get a flight out to Florida, but he plans to return to the island chain.

"This is just ... the bad part of living down in the Caribbean, you've got to deal with the storms," the 46-year-old said as he waited to board a flight to Miami with his miniature dachshund, Rue.

Off Mexico's Pacific coast, Tropical Storm Lowell formed late Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). Lowell's center was 265 miles (430 kms) south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico.

Posted at 10:30 p.m. Saturday

"Extremely dangerous" Hurricane Ike grew to fierce Category 4 strength Saturday as it roared on an uncertain path that forced millions from the Caribbean to Florida, and Louisiana to Mexico, to nervously wonder where it would eventually strike.

Preparations stretched more than 1,000 miles as the massive, 135-mph storm took a southwesterly shift that could send it over Cuba and the Florida Keys by Tuesday before heading into the warm open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. And once again, a possible target was New Orleans and the already storm-weary U.S. Gulf Coast.

"These storms have a mind of their own," Gov. Charlie Crist said after a meeting with mayors and emergency officials. "There are no rules, so what we have to do is be prepared, be smart, vigilant and alert."

First in Ike's path was the low-lying British territory of Turks and Caicos, already pummeled for four days this week by Tropical Storm Hanna. At the airport in Providenciales, Patrick Munroe had hoped to catch a departing flight, but was turned away, even before the airport shuttered.

"It looks really, really serious," he said. "And I think it's going to be devastating."

In Haiti, authorities tried to move thousands of people into shelters ahead of Ike, still struggling to recover from Tropical Storm Hanna. Rescue workers feared Hanna's death toll could rise into the hundreds in the flooded city of Gonaives and that aid efforts could be further impeded as Ike approached.

Hanna did not pack the same punch Saturday while racing up the U.S. Eastern seaboard, but it did cause one death in a traffic accident on Interstate 95 in Maryland. It also brought fits of wind and pelting rain all along its trek toward New England.

But Ike is another matter.

Tens of millions of people in countries spread over a swath of the hurricane zone monitored the trajectory of a storm that had a huge footprint, with tropical storm-force winds stretching up to 140 miles from its eye.

At 8 p.m. EDT, Ike's center was located about 60 miles east of Grand Turk Island as the storm moved west-southwest at about 15 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The center said Ike remained a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of about 135 mph and gusts even higher.

Center meteorologist Colin McAdie said the core of Ike was expected to pass "near or over" the Turks and Caicos soon and begin to affect the southeastern Bahamas overnight.

"It's a very dangerous storm," McAdie told The Associated Press from Miami. He added all indications were that Ike would remain a powerful storm.

"There's going to be some ups and downs, but we expect it to remain a major hurricane over the next couple days," he added.

Tourists were urged to leave the Bahamas, and authorities in the Dominican Republic began evacuating dozens of families from river banks that could flood with waters from two already overfilled dams.

In Cuba, the island's top meteorologist warned Ike was a "true danger" and government officials began the early phases of emergency preparations. But no alarm was evident in Havana, where the U.S. soccer team was set to play Cuba in a World Cup qualifying match.

In Louisiana, still recovering from last week's Hurricane Gustav, Gov. Bobby Jindal set up a task force to prepare for the possibility of more havoc.

"We're not hoping for another strike, another storm, but we're ready," he said.

Even as Gustav evacuees headed home, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said officials were anxiously monitoring Ike's projected path toward the Gulf.

"Our citizens are weary and they're tired and they have spent a lot of money evacuating .. from Gustav," he said. He added that if Ike were to threaten, "my expectations this time is, it will be very difficult to move the kind of numbers out of this city that we moved during Gustav."

In Florida, batteries, water and gas cans became major commodities, as nearly the entire state appeared within the cone of areas that might be hit.

Jose Calbo planned to fly to Chicago later Saturday with his girlfriend, leaving his Miami-area home behind.

"Why be here without power and lights?" he asked. "There is nothing you can do. The best thing you can hope for is to board up the house, empty the freezer."

Visitors to the Florida Keys were under a mandatory evacuation order Saturday and a light but steady stream of traffic rolled out of Key West. In typical fashion, laid-back residents and business owners kept their shops, bars and restaurants open. But unique was the worry, still nearly four days ahead of potential landfall.

Jesse Damian hammered plywood over windows at The Bike Shop.

"The owners are usually like all the people who wait until the last minute around here," he said. "But this one's looking pretty bad."

Key West was last seriously affected by a hurricane in 2005, when Category 3 Wilma sped past. The town escaped widespread wind damage, but a storm surge flooded hundreds of homes and some businesses.

---

Posted at 8:17 p.m.

Fierce Hurricane Ike approaches Turks and Caicos

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says an "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Ike is roaring toward the Turks and Caicos islands as a fierce Category 4 storm.

The center said at 8 p.m. EDT Saturday that the core of the fierce hurricane would soon approach the low-lying British island territory. It added that Ike is packing powerful winds of 135 mph and has gusts even higher.

Forecasters in Miami say the eye of the big storm is located about 60 miles east of Grand Turk Island. Forecasters say the outer edge of the hurricane is expected to begin affecting parts of the Bahamas overnight as the storm approaches Cuba and South Florida sometime Sunday night or early Monday.

---

Posted at 5 p.m. Saturday:

Hurricane Ike nears Turks and Caicos, southern Bahamas

Hurricane Ike loomed over this low-lying island chain Saturday as a dangerous Category 3 storm, prompting thousands of people to evacuate while those staying behind hunkered down and hoped for the best.

As the massive gray wall of clouds approached from the east, people poured into the main supermarket in Providenciales, expecting that power would be knocked out and that food would suddenly become scarce.

Shopkeepers and homeowners covered windows with plywood. Boats were hauled ashore or secured with multiple anchors.

"I am very, very nervous," said John Moore, a fishing boat captain, as he tied down his 61-foot vessel in a Providenciales cove. "It looks like it might go right over us, so that's not a good picture."

Ike's eye was about 135 miles east of Grand Turk Island Saturday afternoon. It was moving west-southwest about 15 mph.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm's maximum sustained winds were 115 mph.

The approach of the hurricane also raised alarm in Haiti, where aid officials feared it could worsen deadly flooding. And Cuba, still recovering from a devastating hit by Category 4 Hurricane Gustav last month, was directly in Ike's projected path.

Cuba's communist government warned people to be ready to take emergency action, but resort hotels along its northern coast said they had not yet started evacuating foreign guests.

The storm was not expected to affect Saturday's World Cup soccer qualifier between the United States and Cuba in Havana.

U.S. military commanders at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base in southeast Cuba were coordinating storm preparations and securing anything that might be carried by the wind, said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Lamb. The U.S. base holds some 255 men suspected on links to the Taliban and al-Qaida in hurricane-proof cells.

Turks and Caicos Premier Michael Misick said his government opened a half dozen shelters and brought in an emergency food shipment.

"We're still praying that the storm will make a northerly turn and we will be spared, even a little bit," Misick told The Associated Press. "It's difficult to predict a storm of this magnitude."

Turks and Caicos and the neighboring Bahamas are close to sea level and are vulnerable to flooding from rain and storm surge.

To reach Haitian immigrants, many of them illegal, the government broadcast emergency messages in Creole and told law enforcement figures not to enforce immigration laws during the storm.

"At a time of disaster, the last thing on our mind is whether you are legal or not," Misick said. "The important thing is to save lives."

The airport in Providenciales closed after thousands of tourists and longtime residents of the typically tranquil island chain evacuated.

In the Bahamas, the government urged tourists to evacuate the sparsely populated southeastern islands and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force dispatched marines to bring food and water to the eastern islands of Mayaguana and San Salvador.

Turks and Caicos, a British territory, was pummeled for four days by Hurricane Hanna earlier this week. It caused widespread flooding and some damage, but did far worse when it drifted toward Haiti as a tropical storm, creating floods that had killed 163 people by Saturday.

Hanna then ran into the U.S. coast and on Saturday it was accelerating up the Atlantic Seaboard toward New England, gradually losing force after dropping heavy rain on the Carolinas but causing no reported deaths.

At least 2,000 people spent the night in shelters and almost 100,000 customers along the East Coast had no power midday Saturday.

Dennis Freeburg, who lives in Providenciales, managed to get a flight out to Florida, but he plans to return to the island chain, which he says is a paradise for scuba divers like him.

"This is just ... the bad part of living down in the Caribbean, you've got to deal with the storms," the 46-year-old said as he waited to board a flight to Miami with his miniature dachshund, Rue.

Posted at 3 p.m.:

Many flee Turks and Caicos as Ike approaches

Hurricane Ike barreled toward the Turks and Caicos as a powerful Category 3 storm Saturday, prompting an exodus of tourists and residents from the normally idyllic Atlantic island chain.

Turks and Caicos and the southern Bahamas appeared to be first in line to take a hit from Ike, and many people decided they would be better off elsewhere. For some, the decision to flee came too late.

Authorities planned to close the airport at noon, and even with extra flights scheduled, some had trouble finding seats.

"The flights look impossible at the moment," a dejected Patrick Munro said outside the terminal in Providenciales. He had hoped to return to his native Bahamas to be with his wife and child when the storm gets there.

"As i watched the weather forecast it looks really, really serious and I think it's going to be devastating," he said.

"I don't remember ever seeing a mass exodus like this," said Tracy Paradis, a longtime resident of Providenciales who was heading to Seattle with her 19-month-old twins to wait out the storm.

The low-lying island chain, a British overseas territory, was pummeled for four days by Hanna earlier this week. That storm caused widespread flooding, and knocked down trees, light poles and an important causeway that links North Caicos and Middle Caicos.

Premier Michael Misick toured some of the hardest-hit areas and pledged government aid while also warning people to heed the warnings about Ike.

Ike's eye was about 215 miles east of Grand Turk Island around dawn Saturday. It was moving west-southwest about 16 mph and had maximum sustained winds near 115 mph. Forecasters said Ike could be near or over the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas by early Sunday.

Beyond that along Ike's projected course stand Cuba's two chief tourist centers: Varadero beach and Havana, the seaside capital of 2.3 million people.

Many in the Turks and Caicos said that Hurricane Hanna gave them a sense of vulnerability.

"I've been here 13 years and Hanna was the strongest thing we've had," Dierin Longmire said as she checked in at the airport. "It shook me up."

She said she was closely monitoring the storm's approach and decided to start her vacation to Asia earlier than usual.

"I have a feeling it's going to be bad," she said.

Leslie Foss, a personal trainer who has lived in Turks for eight years, originally planned to ride it out. But the man who built her house in Providenciales and a friend in the Canadian coast guard encouraged her leave. She was evacuating with her Great Dane, Max.

"When people who have experienced these things ... are leaving, it just makes you think," said Foss, a native of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Business in Providenciales covered windows with plywood, and most hotels closed and ordered tourists out.

Jonathan Cohen, from Queens, New York, had already planned to return home Friday but others at the Club Med resort where he spent the week were forced to cut short their vacations.

"What we saw was pretty bad," the 35-year-old physician's assistant said. "So for it to be two, three times worse, well, it's time to get out of here."

Not everyone, however, was heading to the mainland. Many residents went about their business as usual — under mostly clear skies — and even a few tourists planned to stick it out. The airport in Providenciales was expected to close Saturday.

In the Bahamas, the government urged tourists to evacuate the sparsely populated southeastern islands.

"We are strongly encouraging all of our visitors to voluntarily evacuate," said Vernice Walkine, director general of the Tourism Ministry.

Posted at 11 p.m. Friday:

Hurricane Ike forecast to be near Naples on Wednesday

With Hurricane Ike barreling toward the Turks and Caicos islands as a powerful Category 3 storm, Gov. Charlie Crist issued an emergency declaration Friday for the entire state of Florida and officials in the Florida Keys ordered a mandatory evacuation for all visitors to begin Saturday morning.

Collier County Emergency Management Department officials called Ike a "serious storm (that) poses concern for Collier County for high winds and storm surge potential."

The Collier County Board of County Commissioners will hold a special meeting at 1 p.m. Sunday to determine if there is a need to declare a state of emergency.

Lee officials told emergency responders to rest this weekend, because if the storm stays on its current track, the county Emergency Operation Center will activate at 8 a.m. Monday.

Ike was still in the open Atlantic Ocean on Friday night, but forecasts showed it could make landfall in Florida next week as a strong hurricane. It could also miss the state, as Tropical Storm Hanna did.

Crist said Floridians statewide should be prepared for winds exceeding 115 mph, flash flooding, ocean rip currents and tornadoes.

At 8 p.m. Friday, Ike’s eye was about 420 miles east of Grand Turk Island. It was moving west-southwest about 15 mph and had maximum sustained winds near 115 mph. Forecasters said Ike should shift more to the west Saturday and could be near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas early Sunday.

In the Keys, the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management said visitors must leave starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. A phased evacuation for residents will start Sunday morning. Key West and the lower Keys will be evacuated first. The middle and northern Keys will follow later in the day.

Tropical storm force winds could arrive in the Keys as early as Monday night.

Officials in Collier and Lee advised residents to update their hurricane plans and monitor news reports for new information. No shelter operations, evacuations or protective action recommendations have been scheduled at this point.

Lee County Public Safety director John Wilson had some advice for emergency responders.

“Please try to get some rest this weekend,” he told the few dozen deputies, firefighters and others girding for the worst at a briefing Friday afternoon. “I know we just made your weekend.”

Wilson said if Ike continues along its current track, the county Emergency Operation Center will activate at 8 a.m. Monday. He said there’s no need yet to talk about evacuations, but the 500 or so east Bonita Springs residents currently calling the Estero Community Center home will stay there for now.

“We’re pretty much continuing the ongoing shelter for Manna Christian,” he said. “We don’t see any sense in them going home right now even though the water is receding.”

Heavy rains in southeast Lee could reverse the draining waters.

Ike could be a worst-case scenario for Southwest Florida if it follows the predicted track, which takes it north of Cuba before turning north to parallel the coast. That current track puts it just off the Southwest Florida coast Wednesday morning.

Wilson urged agencies to get ready, and to urge the residents they protect to do so, too.

“Hopefully this’ll be it,” he said of the Friday briefing. “This track may go elsewhere.”

Facing the threat of Ike’s fury, tourists and even longtime residents from the normally idyllic Turks and Caicos islands were fleeing. Hanna pummeled the islands for four days as a much weaker storm earlier in the week, knocking down trees and light poles and flooding low-lying islands.

“I’ve been here 13 years and Hanna was the strongest thing we’ve had,” Dierin Longmire said as she checked in at the airport. “It shook me up.”

Longmire said she had been monitoring Ike’s progress in what seems like a direct line toward Turks and Caicos and the southern Bahamas. The Baltimore native decided to start her vacation to Asia earlier than usual.

“I have a feeling it’s going to be bad,” she said.

Leslie Foss, a personal trainer who has lived in Turks for eight years, originally planned to ride it out, but the man who built her house in Providenciales and a friend in the Canadian coast guard both encouraged her to get to the mainland. She was evacuating with her Great Dane, Max.

“When people who have experienced these things ... are leaving, it just makes you think,” said the native of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Throughout Providenciales, nearly every business had covered its windows with plywood. Most hotels were closed and had ordered tourists out.

Jonathan Cohen, from Queens, New York, had already planned to return home Friday but others at the Club Med resort where he spent the week were forced to cut short their vacations.

After four days of “nothing but darkness, rain, storm and high winds,” from Hanna, it was a good idea to leave, Cohen said.

“What we saw was pretty bad,” the 35-year-old physician’s assistant said. “So for it to be two, three times worse, well, it’s time to get out of here.”

Not everyone, however, was heading to the mainland. Many locals went about their business as usual — under mostly clear skies — and even a few tourists planned to stick it out. Many stores and the airport in Providenciales were expected to close today.

In the Bahamas, the government urged tourists to evacuate as Ike approaches the sparsely populated southeastern islands.

“We are strongly encouraging all of our visitors to voluntarily evacuate,” Vernice Walkine, director general of the Tourism Ministry, said at a news conference.

Bennett and Joyce Varghese, of Clifton, N.J., were the only tourists on a nearly empty Boeing 737 arriving in Turks from Miami. They had been planning their trip for months and didn’t want to cancel. Neither had been to Turks before or ever experienced a hurricane.

“Summer’s ending, and we wanted to get a trip in,” Bennett Varghese said. “If we have to stay a few extra days, that’s fine.”

From 11 a.m.

The 11 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center shows Hurricane Ike forecast to move south of Naples, but still packing 115 mph winds on Wednesday.

Earlier forecasts put the storm to the east of Naples, but the 11 a.m. update, based on computer models, puts the storm 46 miles south-southwest of Naples at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. With hurricane force winds punching out more than 30 miles, the Naples area must keep watch on this storm.

From 5 a.m.

Hurricane Ike remains a "dangerous" Category 3 storm this morning, with the current forecast track taking it into the Naples area early Wednesday morning with winds of nearly 110 mph.

The National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. update puts the storm 50 miles east of Naples at 2 a.m. Wednesday (254 miles southeast at 2 a.m. on Tuesday). Hurricane force winds extend 35 miles from the center of Ike, with tropical force winds stretching more than 100 miles from the center.

At 5 a.m., the eye of Ike was 460 miles north of the Leeward Island on track into the Bahamas.

Check back with naplesnews.com for the latest on the storm.