Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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August 19, 2007

Hurricane Dean Approaches Jamaica
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=18CAFEF:A6F02AD83191E1600C1ABF95E2D35F449574F7DCC14957C0 US National Weather
Service says hurricane winds could exceed 250 kilometers-per-hour when
it hits Jamaica





Families take refuge in a school for protection from the Hurricane
Dean in Pedernales some 320kms west of Santo Domingo next to the
border with Haiti, Sunday, 19 Aug. 2007Hurricane Dean is expected to
make a direct hit on Jamaica Sunday.

The deadly storm has been gaining strength as it moves across the
Caribbean toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

The U.S. National Weather Service says hurricane winds could exceed
250 kilometers-per-hour when it hits Jamaica.

Many tourists have fled the country, while Jamaicans have been
evacuating low-lying areas and seeking shelter after stocking up on
emergency supplies.

Dean could dump considerable rain on the island, and cause
life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.

Forecasters also warned of hurricane conditions for the southwestern
peninsula of Haiti and the southern coast of the Dominican Republic.

Officials in the Dominican Republic Saturday said a 16-year-old boy
was killed when the first hurricane of the Atlantic season sent large
waves crashing onto shore.

Hurricane Dean could force the postponement of Jamaica's general
elections, which are scheduled for Monday.

The governor of the southern U.S. state of Louisiana, on the Gulf of
Mexico, declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm and
requested federal funding in case Dean makes landfall there. 
Louisiana is home to (the city of) New Orleans, which suffered
devastating floods in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Dean uprooted trees, knocked out power and peeled roofs of houses as
it passed the islands of Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia with
strong winds and driving rains.  It also destroyed nearly all of the
banana plantations and 70 percent of the sugar cane crop in
Martinique, a French territory.  

The storm is also forecast to clip Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and
arrive in the Gulf of Mexico in a few days, potentially disrupting
crucial oil refinery operations.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.




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