Hurricane Luis-Puerto Rico
9-6-1995
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
FAJARDO, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Island paradises battered by one of the century's most powerful storms tallied damages Wednesday while Puerto Ricans who escaped the brunt of Hurricane Luis counted something else: their blessings.
Luis skirted the U.S. territory, which forecasters initially predicted would feel its full force. The hurricane caused only minor damage _ a few blown-off roofs, several downed power lines and some flooding.
In its wake, it left 3.6 million relieved Puerto Ricans.
"We should indeed be grateful for having been spared," an announcer said on Newstalk 1560 radio Wednesday morning. There were no newspapers to share the news, though: All three dailies closed, fearing harm to employees and facilities.
Two people died in storm-related accidents in Puerto Rico _ a man killed by a power cable brought down by the storm Tuesday, and another who fell from a roof Monday as he removed an antenna to protect it.
Two others died this week, drowned by high seas in Guadeloupe and Dominica.
Luis moved away from the Caribbean on Wednesday afternoon, and forecasters expected 10 inches of rain in Puerto Rico before it turns north Thursday as a storm over Florida keeps it away from the U.S. mainland.
"As long as it stays, (Hurricane Luis) will not have any strange ideas about coming over Florida," said Fiona Horsfall, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the storm was 140 miles north-northeast of Puerto Rico and still blowing 125-mph winds. Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands, the National Weather Service said.
Damage was extensive in the array of Caribbean resort islands trashed by the hurricane. On those islands, residents spent Wednesday figuring out what damage Luis wrought.
The British Red Cross, U.S. State Department disaster officials, soldiers from Barbados and police from Grenada and St. Lucia were headed to Antigua, one of the worst-hit.
Britain said its battleship HMS Southampton, the West Indies guard ship that cruises the Caribbean, was on the way to Antigua from Montserrat, where it had been on standby while a volcano threatened to erupt.
In Antigua's capital, St. John's, a music store was looted, Chamber of Commerce officials said. Troops sealed off downtown, and some landmarks of the former British colony were destroyed. At least two coastal hotels were swept into the roiling seas.
St. Kitts and Nevis were "devastated," said Denzil Douglas, prime minister of the two islands.
"Most of our hospitals ... have lost their roofs. They have no water or electricity," Douglas said. He said three-quarters of the houses on the islands, where 45,000 people live, lost roofs to high winds.
There was also widespread damage and flooding on the islands of St. Martin and Anguilla, the British Foreign Office reported. The U.S. Virgin Islands, like Puerto Rico, escaped major damage.
Sixty-four Puerto Rican prisoners took advantage of blackouts to escape. Thirty-two were captured by midday Wednesday, two after a shootout with police in a San Juan suburb.
After spending the night on the floor of her video shop in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and listening to Luis' accelerating fury outside, Awilda Alvarez emerged Wednesday morning and looked about in wonder.
The scuba diving shop across the parking lot was still standing. So was the mini-mart next door. Not a single window was broken.
"Hugo was my first hurricane," Alvarez said. "This time we were more prepared."
Hugo, which hit in 1989, killed 10 people and caused $600 million in damage. It also motivated Puerto Ricans to be absolutely sure they were ready for Luis.
Thousands sought shelter overnight in schools. Radio broadcasts filed a stream of weather bulletins. After dawn, rescue workers raced about trying to find people to rescue.
A half-dozen paramedics in the beach town of Luquillo, some standing on the bumper of an ambulance and clinging to its side, checked out a report of injuries caused when a roof was wrenched away from a house. There were none.
They zoomed off in another direction and came to a dead end on a rain-sodden street. Some paramedics hopped off and, grinning, began scooping up mangoes blown off a tree.
Although there were fears that rainstorms left by Luis would cause trouble and concern for residents of other islands hit harder, some Puerto Ricans stayed festive.
"Hey! Let's have a party," said Rhoda Greenwood, whose $50,000 sailboat was sunk in the 1989 hurricane. "I can go get some wine."
Few, if any, were mad that precautions had been taken needlessly.
"Even though the hurricane didn't hit here despite all the warnings that it would, I feel very content," Luquillo Mayor Edna J. Figueroa said.
"The people responded. Ones that were in high-risk areas evacuated willingly," Figueroa said. "We learned from Hugo."
The ability to prepare should be useful. Experts have warned that the 1995 hurricane season has barely begun and could be one of the worst ever.
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
FAJARDO, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Island paradises battered by one of the century's most powerful storms tallied damages Wednesday while Puerto Ricans who escaped the brunt of Hurricane Luis counted something else: their blessings.
Luis skirted the U.S. territory, which forecasters initially predicted would feel its full force. The hurricane caused only minor damage _ a few blown-off roofs, several downed power lines and some flooding.
In its wake, it left 3.6 million relieved Puerto Ricans.
"We should indeed be grateful for having been spared," an announcer said on Newstalk 1560 radio Wednesday morning. There were no newspapers to share the news, though: All three dailies closed, fearing harm to employees and facilities.
Two people died in storm-related accidents in Puerto Rico _ a man killed by a power cable brought down by the storm Tuesday, and another who fell from a roof Monday as he removed an antenna to protect it.
Two others died this week, drowned by high seas in Guadeloupe and Dominica.
Luis moved away from the Caribbean on Wednesday afternoon, and forecasters expected 10 inches of rain in Puerto Rico before it turns north Thursday as a storm over Florida keeps it away from the U.S. mainland.
"As long as it stays, (Hurricane Luis) will not have any strange ideas about coming over Florida," said Fiona Horsfall, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the storm was 140 miles north-northeast of Puerto Rico and still blowing 125-mph winds. Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands, the National Weather Service said.
Damage was extensive in the array of Caribbean resort islands trashed by the hurricane. On those islands, residents spent Wednesday figuring out what damage Luis wrought.
The British Red Cross, U.S. State Department disaster officials, soldiers from Barbados and police from Grenada and St. Lucia were headed to Antigua, one of the worst-hit.
Britain said its battleship HMS Southampton, the West Indies guard ship that cruises the Caribbean, was on the way to Antigua from Montserrat, where it had been on standby while a volcano threatened to erupt.
In Antigua's capital, St. John's, a music store was looted, Chamber of Commerce officials said. Troops sealed off downtown, and some landmarks of the former British colony were destroyed. At least two coastal hotels were swept into the roiling seas.
St. Kitts and Nevis were "devastated," said Denzil Douglas, prime minister of the two islands.
"Most of our hospitals ... have lost their roofs. They have no water or electricity," Douglas said. He said three-quarters of the houses on the islands, where 45,000 people live, lost roofs to high winds.
There was also widespread damage and flooding on the islands of St. Martin and Anguilla, the British Foreign Office reported. The U.S. Virgin Islands, like Puerto Rico, escaped major damage.
Sixty-four Puerto Rican prisoners took advantage of blackouts to escape. Thirty-two were captured by midday Wednesday, two after a shootout with police in a San Juan suburb.
After spending the night on the floor of her video shop in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and listening to Luis' accelerating fury outside, Awilda Alvarez emerged Wednesday morning and looked about in wonder.
The scuba diving shop across the parking lot was still standing. So was the mini-mart next door. Not a single window was broken.
"Hugo was my first hurricane," Alvarez said. "This time we were more prepared."
Hugo, which hit in 1989, killed 10 people and caused $600 million in damage. It also motivated Puerto Ricans to be absolutely sure they were ready for Luis.
Thousands sought shelter overnight in schools. Radio broadcasts filed a stream of weather bulletins. After dawn, rescue workers raced about trying to find people to rescue.
A half-dozen paramedics in the beach town of Luquillo, some standing on the bumper of an ambulance and clinging to its side, checked out a report of injuries caused when a roof was wrenched away from a house. There were none.
They zoomed off in another direction and came to a dead end on a rain-sodden street. Some paramedics hopped off and, grinning, began scooping up mangoes blown off a tree.
Although there were fears that rainstorms left by Luis would cause trouble and concern for residents of other islands hit harder, some Puerto Ricans stayed festive.
"Hey! Let's have a party," said Rhoda Greenwood, whose $50,000 sailboat was sunk in the 1989 hurricane. "I can go get some wine."
Few, if any, were mad that precautions had been taken needlessly.
"Even though the hurricane didn't hit here despite all the warnings that it would, I feel very content," Luquillo Mayor Edna J. Figueroa said.
"The people responded. Ones that were in high-risk areas evacuated willingly," Figueroa said. "We learned from Hugo."
The ability to prepare should be useful. Experts have warned that the 1995 hurricane season has barely begun and could be one of the worst ever.
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