Hurricane Georges Hits Leeward Islands

In the first stop on what is expected to be a destructive, possibly deadly tour of the Caribbean, powerful Hurricane Georges began pounding the Leeward Islands on Sunday with heavy rain squalls and winds expected to top 100 mph.

“It’s a big one,” Derek Perryman, who runs a dive shop on the island of Dominica, said Sunday in the midst of an ominous calm before the storm’s arrival. “I think that everyone’s accepted that we’re going to get it.”

After clocking winds of more than 150 mph, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami called Georges one of the biggest storms of the last decade, comparable to Hurricane Andrew, which devastated parts of Miami in 1992, and Hurricane Hugo, which struck Charleston, S.C., in 1989.

Before beginning to cross over the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Georges’ top winds tailed off to about 115 mph. “But make no mistake,” said forecaster Michelle Huber, “this is still a dangerous storm.”

Dawn was expected to reveal heavy damage on the islands of Antigua, Guadeloupe, Barbuda, Nevis, St. Kitts and St. Eustatius, among others.

Next on Georges’ hit list: Puerto Rico, along with the British and U.S. Virgin Islands.

The official National Hurricane Center forecast has the eye of the storm hugging the south coast of Puerto Rico late today. The mountainous interior of the U.S. commonwealth, as well as the capital city of San Juan, could see five to eight inches of rain, a tidal storm surge of five to 10 feet above normal and winds capable of ripping trees from the earth and roofs from houses.

Forecasters said Georges was still days away from the U.S. coast, if it were to reach the U.S. at all. Possible paths include a continued westward march through the Caribbean Sea into Mexico, a gradual right-hand turn into the Gulf of Mexico, or a sharp curve out into the open Atlantic Ocean, away from the Bahamas.

Residents of the Gulf and East coasts of the U.S. were advised to monitor the storm. “Just because it’s a very strong storm, it’s a scary thing,” warned National Hurricane Center director Jerry Jarrell.

Throughout the Caribbean on Sunday, those in the predicted path of Georges rushed to board up windows, secure boats and stock up on critical supplies such as water, canned food and batteries.

On Antigua, a former British colony of just 108 square miles, the island’s cable television company took down its satellite dishes. Aluminum light poles were lowered in a shopping center in the capital, St. John’s. Emergency shelters were opened in churches and schools.

“We have moved the few guests we have off the ground floor and the top floor,” said Rawle Reynolds, assistant manager of the three-story Heritage Hotel in St. John’s. “We know we are going to suffer some damage. We’re concerned for the danger.”

On Dominica, Perryman, the dive shop owner, said his four boats were safely stowed, but he feared the potential damage to the island’s commercially important banana crop. “The farmers are going to suffer,” Perryman said.

Hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico were posted late Sunday, while a hurricane watch was posted for the Dominican Republic.

In Puerto Rico, Gov. Pedro Rossello called up the island’s national guard and began opening some of more than 300 shelters. American Airlines--for which San Juan is a hub--announced all flights to the island were canceled as of today. Resort hotels along the north coast were boarding up windows and moving the pool chairs indoors.

“We are looking for some very dangerous conditions by 6 a.m.,” said Ron Block, National Weather Service forecaster in San Juan.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent early response teams to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Satellite photos show Georges to be a tightly wrapped, symmetrical storm with a well-defined eye and winds--of 75 miles or more--extending out 85 miles from the center. It began as a wave of low pressure off the coast of Africa during the six-month tropical storm season, which peaks in September.