This photo taken October
27, 1998, after missing Jamaica.| Home
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This photo taken October
27, 1998, after missing Jamaica.Sunday October 25 2:08 PM EDT
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ Driving rain squalls spawned by Hurricane Mitch forced churches to cancel Sunday services, flooded streets in the Jamaican capital of Kingston and sent residents scurrying for provisions.
Under dark, menacing skies, seaports closed and buses and taxis stayed off Kingston's streets as Mitch, the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, swirled in the western Caribbean Sea south of Jamaica.
Packing 145-mph winds, Mitch was a powerful Category 4 hurricane that could also threaten the Cayman Islands, Cuba and Colombia's tiny islands off Central America, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane warnings were posted for Jamaica and eastern Cuba and a hurricane watch was in effect for the tourist islands of the Caymans.
At 1 p.m. EST, Mitch was about 210 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman. Crawling west-northwest at 8 mph, its hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph extended 45 miles from the center.
Sheets of rain reduced visibility to a few yards as squalls pelted Kingston and Jamaica's eastern districts. With rain expected at least through Monday, authorities warned of mudslides and flash floods, especially in the mountains.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson appealed for calm, shelters opened and Jamaica's defense forces went on alert. Residents cleared shelves of bakery items, batteries and other goods at the few Kingston markets open Sunday.
Several airlines canceled flights, although the Kingston and Montego Bay airports remained open.
In western Jamaica, hoteliers and tourists kept a wary eye on the storm's progress.
``It's not a very good beach day,'' said Rohan Watson, a manager at the Negril Inn in the western resort of Negril. Employees stockpiled food and plywood to board windows in case Mitch threatened, he said.
``People are still coming in. I think most people think the weather's going to pass,'' said an optimistic Marcia Tomlinson, a receptionist at the Montego Bay hotel in the northwestern coastal resort of Montego Bay.
Jamaica was last struck by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which killed 45 people. But the island was spared by Hurricane Georges, a storm that killed more than 500 during its rampage through the northeast Caribbean last month.
In the Cayman Islands, a British colony of about 28,000, some boat owners secured their vessels and residents stocked up on food, water, batteries and other essentials. The government allowed markets _ normally closed by law on Sunday _ to open and ordered public works employees to report to work.
The annual Pirates Festival and street parade was rescheduled for next weekend, and a planned release of 400 endangered green sea turtle hatchlings from Grand Cayman was postponed indefinitely.
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