Hurricane Luis-Rdp
9-9-1995
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ In its rampage through the Caribbean, Hurricane Luis tore apart more than houses, yachts and lives. It ripped an island in two.
As the center of Luis passed over Barbuda on Tuesday, it churned up 10-foot waves that breached a narrow inlet and severed a small northeast sliver of the island, part of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
While Barbuda's plight was perhaps most dramatic, the islands around it also were pounded by one of the most powerful storms of the century. The official death toll stood at 16 on Saturday, and could rise.
On St. Martin, the hardest-hit island, medical student William Jakobleff described how a 40-foot wave exploded through a wall of windows into the third-floor restaurant of the Great Bay Beach Hotel, where 200 guests had taken refuge.
"It sounded like the end of the world," said Jakobleff, of Yonkers, N.Y. "People were screaming and praying. We were just petrified for our lives."
Luis was not expected to hit the U.S. mainland, but the National Weather Service warned of heavy surf and coastal flooding from Florida to southern New England. On Fire Island, east of New York City, waves gouged out huge stretches of beach, toppling a three-story house into the surf.
The storm accelerated Saturday, and at 11 p.m. EDT was 245 miles northwest of Bermuda, moving northeast at 25 mph with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. A tropical storm warning was posted for Bermuda.
The Daily Observer newspaper on Antigua reported Saturday that the coral reef that makes up Barbuda was cut into six pieces. This could not immediately be confirmed.
The storm wrecked 95 percent of the buildings on the island, and battered its infant tourist industry. All the hotels on Barbuda, 280 miles east of Puerto Rico, were severely damaged.
The town of Codrington, where all of Barbuda's 1,500 residents live, was flooded, and sea water contaminated the water supply, the newspaper reported.
The island was trying to develop a tourist industry, especially for snorkellers and skin-divers attracted to the 60 shipwrecks on the reef.
On Antigua, 65 percent of the buildings were destroyed. The U.S. Navy and British Royal Marines provided generators and thousands of gallons of water to get the hospital functioning and reopen the damaged airport.
"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" host Robin Leach, who has a home in Antigua, coordinated an aid shipment carrying 66,000 pounds of relief supplies from AmeriCares, based in New Canaan, Conn.
St. Martin, only days ago a pristine vacation spot for wealthy tourists, was a jumble of ripped-apart yachts, houseboats and shantytowns.
Telephone and power poles toppled by 130-mph winds and nine-foot surf were still down. Hundreds of yachts and houseboats were tossed across piers and beaches. Jetties and airports were trashed, roads washed away and trees uprooted.
Firefighters from Holland arrived Saturday and searched for bodies in the flattened shantytowns of galvanized iron and plywood where poor Haitians and Dominicans lived.
The Netherlands administers the better-developed side of the island, called St. Maarten. The other side, St. Martin, is French territory.
Dutch authorities closed the border Friday and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew to prevent looting. American Airlines began flying residents only to the island on commercial flights Saturday.
Officials also turned back chartered helicopters with reporters on board, making it impossible to confirm the hurricane's toll. Authorities told some American reporters they were tired of the negative publicity.
Dutch officials conceded Saturday that many more people may have died than indicated by the conflicting official death tolls.
"The figure could rise," said Jan Meijer, a Dutch government spokesman in The Hague, the Netherlands.
"We know that a very large percentage of the houses are severely damaged," he said. "We are not sure what we will find under the mess."
A U.S. Navy C-130 Hercules cargo plane flew tons of relief supplies to St. Maarten and carried out 53 Americans when it returned to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico.
Lt. Cmdr. Ed Barker, a Roosevelt Roads spokesman, said the American Consulate had arranged two commercial flights that flew out 400 Americans on Saturday. He estimated there may have been 1,000 Americans stranded there by the hurricane.
In addition to crushed buildings and ruined crops, Luis also could badly hurt the region's crucial tourist industries. The damage to Antigua and St. Maarten prompted two cruise lines to take those stops off their itineraries.
Norwegian Cruise Line said its ships the Norway and the Seaward will no longer stop at the islands, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line also said it would pass them over until the damage is repaired.
Major airlines canceled flights between Bermuda and North America, stranding about 1,000 tourists.
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ In its rampage through the Caribbean, Hurricane Luis tore apart more than houses, yachts and lives. It ripped an island in two.
As the center of Luis passed over Barbuda on Tuesday, it churned up 10-foot waves that breached a narrow inlet and severed a small northeast sliver of the island, part of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
While Barbuda's plight was perhaps most dramatic, the islands around it also were pounded by one of the most powerful storms of the century. The official death toll stood at 16 on Saturday, and could rise.
On St. Martin, the hardest-hit island, medical student William Jakobleff described how a 40-foot wave exploded through a wall of windows into the third-floor restaurant of the Great Bay Beach Hotel, where 200 guests had taken refuge.
"It sounded like the end of the world," said Jakobleff, of Yonkers, N.Y. "People were screaming and praying. We were just petrified for our lives."
Luis was not expected to hit the U.S. mainland, but the National Weather Service warned of heavy surf and coastal flooding from Florida to southern New England. On Fire Island, east of New York City, waves gouged out huge stretches of beach, toppling a three-story house into the surf.
The storm accelerated Saturday, and at 11 p.m. EDT was 245 miles northwest of Bermuda, moving northeast at 25 mph with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. A tropical storm warning was posted for Bermuda.
The Daily Observer newspaper on Antigua reported Saturday that the coral reef that makes up Barbuda was cut into six pieces. This could not immediately be confirmed.
The storm wrecked 95 percent of the buildings on the island, and battered its infant tourist industry. All the hotels on Barbuda, 280 miles east of Puerto Rico, were severely damaged.
The town of Codrington, where all of Barbuda's 1,500 residents live, was flooded, and sea water contaminated the water supply, the newspaper reported.
The island was trying to develop a tourist industry, especially for snorkellers and skin-divers attracted to the 60 shipwrecks on the reef.
On Antigua, 65 percent of the buildings were destroyed. The U.S. Navy and British Royal Marines provided generators and thousands of gallons of water to get the hospital functioning and reopen the damaged airport.
"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" host Robin Leach, who has a home in Antigua, coordinated an aid shipment carrying 66,000 pounds of relief supplies from AmeriCares, based in New Canaan, Conn.
St. Martin, only days ago a pristine vacation spot for wealthy tourists, was a jumble of ripped-apart yachts, houseboats and shantytowns.
Telephone and power poles toppled by 130-mph winds and nine-foot surf were still down. Hundreds of yachts and houseboats were tossed across piers and beaches. Jetties and airports were trashed, roads washed away and trees uprooted.
Firefighters from Holland arrived Saturday and searched for bodies in the flattened shantytowns of galvanized iron and plywood where poor Haitians and Dominicans lived.
The Netherlands administers the better-developed side of the island, called St. Maarten. The other side, St. Martin, is French territory.
Dutch authorities closed the border Friday and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew to prevent looting. American Airlines began flying residents only to the island on commercial flights Saturday.
Officials also turned back chartered helicopters with reporters on board, making it impossible to confirm the hurricane's toll. Authorities told some American reporters they were tired of the negative publicity.
Dutch officials conceded Saturday that many more people may have died than indicated by the conflicting official death tolls.
"The figure could rise," said Jan Meijer, a Dutch government spokesman in The Hague, the Netherlands.
"We know that a very large percentage of the houses are severely damaged," he said. "We are not sure what we will find under the mess."
A U.S. Navy C-130 Hercules cargo plane flew tons of relief supplies to St. Maarten and carried out 53 Americans when it returned to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico.
Lt. Cmdr. Ed Barker, a Roosevelt Roads spokesman, said the American Consulate had arranged two commercial flights that flew out 400 Americans on Saturday. He estimated there may have been 1,000 Americans stranded there by the hurricane.
In addition to crushed buildings and ruined crops, Luis also could badly hurt the region's crucial tourist industries. The damage to Antigua and St. Maarten prompted two cruise lines to take those stops off their itineraries.
Norwegian Cruise Line said its ships the Norway and the Seaward will no longer stop at the islands, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line also said it would pass them over until the damage is repaired.
Major airlines canceled flights between Bermuda and North America, stranding about 1,000 tourists.
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