Hurricane Hurls Boats Ashore on Virgin Islands

Hurricane Lenny battered St. Croix with its 150-mph winds Wednesday, damaging homes and hurling boats onto shore. The monster storm then roared toward a string of Dutch and British islands.

Just 5 mph shy of a Category 5, the strongest hurricane rating, the storm’s powerful winds killed at least four people, from South America to the northeastern Caribbean.

St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands bore the brunt of its fury as the eye passed on an unusual west-to-east course just 20 miles south Wednesday afternoon.

“My yard is completely flooded out, the telephone lines are whistling and the rain is beating against the house,” said Anthony Lewis of Frederiksted, St. Croix’s second-largest town. He said he spent the morning bailing water out of his house.

Hundreds of tourists in the region were stranded as airlines canceled flights and airports closed.

The storm loomed just southeast of St. Maarten late Wednesday night. Hurricane-force winds extended 70 miles from its center and tropical storm force winds an additional 205 miles. The eye was expected to pass close to the Dutch territories of St. Eustatius, Saba and the British island of Anguilla before heading into open ocean.

Anguilla was drenched with rain Wednesday afternoon, and its beaches were eroded by sea swells of up to 12 feet throughout the day.

Lenny’s lateness in the season and easterly path left even experienced observers agape. “It’s unheard of,” said veteran meteorologist John Toohey on San Juan’s WOSO-AM radio. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

The storm’s first winds cut power and telephone service to many St. Croix homes. In Christiansted, St. Croix’s main town, the boardwalk was submerged and winds tore part of the roof off the newly renovated King Christian Hotel.

A half dozen people suffered fractures and other injuries when they were hit by waves on St. Kitts’ concrete pier. Storm surges in Grenada swept away four houses and washed away roads.