Forum - Coming Soon
British Tourists Forced To Flee Hurricane

Mon, 20 Aug 2007

Jamaica has been hit by Hurricane Dean, forcing up to 5,000 British tourists to take refuge after already claiming at least seven lives.

The country was forced to close both its main airports, which left holidaymakers with little choice but to take emergency shelter in resorts with hurricane-proof walls, or seek safety in converted shelters in Jamaican schools, churches and the indoor national sports arena.

Jamaica has declared a curfew as the 2,700,000 population of the island remain on standby.

The Category 4 storm is expected to inflict winds of 145mph, 20 inches of rain and 8 to 13-foot storm surges.

The Foreign Office advised against all travel to the country and to the Cayman Islands, where the hurricane is set to hit tomorrow, until further notice has been given.

The Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller made a last-minute plea for residents to abandon their homes and head for shelter .

Hurricane Dean has already swept through parts of Dominica, Martinique and St Lucia and is expected to increase in size and strength to category 5 status as it reaches the Yucatan in Mexico this evening - where another 9,000 Brits are holidaying.

Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina (a category 5 storm) hit greater New Orleans in the US, claiming the lives of 1,836 people.
add to favouritesnewsletterlink to this pagesend to friendpost comments

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.