The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 2

2A FROM THE FRONT PAGE www.herald.com Saturday, October 16,1999 Hurricane storm waves swamp Havana rr r-r- r-r r-rr irr-mv Many without power; 2 dead BY JUAN 0. TAMAYO jtamayoherald.com Huge swells driven by Hurricane Irene pounded Havana Friday as the Cuban government reported two people dead, two missing, 1,589 homes damaged and one-third of the capital without electricity in the storms wake. Civil defense officials warned of destructive storm surges from the beach resort of Varadero, east of Havana, to the westernmost province of Pinar del Rio as Irene punched northward into Florida. Swells crashing onshore Friday sent 50-foot geysers into the air along Havanas seaside Malecon drive and flooded low-lying areas beyond it, forcing several hundred people from their homes, witnesses said. Cubas government-run radio and television reported that one-third of the capital remained without electricity, and 78,300 men, women and children were still out of their homes, from among 160,000 evacuated across the country Thursday.

Two Havana residents died in accidental electrocutions and one was missing in the wake of Irenes rain-laden passage over western Cuba. Another man from Matanzas province was missing, the Cu DJilANT Ir.v.i.vt (Mir- JOSE GOITIA AP STORM DESTRUCTION: Citizens in Old Havana look at the rubble of a collapsed building Friday. Hurricane Irene toppled dozens of aging homes and buildings as it swept across the island. Gxnixziie CHI 1 (30 U2ZXI rrrrrrri manznau dgsd (arm million, were evacuated during the storm Thursday. President Fidel Castro, 73, appeared to take personal control of civil defense operations as Irene approached Thursday, rushing to Pinar del Rio to check on preparations and relaying weather forecasts on national television.

There is a spirit of solidarity and cooperation like never before, he said in one TV ban media reported. Irene toppled 35 already dilapidated houses and damaged another 750 in Havana, the reports said, and damaged some 800 other dwellings while toppling another 25 around the rest of the island. Government reports indicated that damage to agriculture is extensive but not disastrous, with 1 million banana and plantain trees knocked down. Half the public transport system re mained paralyzed, the radio reported. Havanas only two milk processing plants were among the 15 factories in the capital knocked out of production by Irenes rain and winds and the power outages, the Cuban media reported.

Havana Mayor Conrado Martinez reported some 300 trees were knocked down, and 13,000 residents of the capital, which has a population of 2 rain submerges Keys A funny thing happens when you sign your own sofa. You end up letting exaefly what you want. i mmd We'ra determine to help you get he exact sofa you've been searching for. You pick a style of our selection. You pick the fabric (over 600 to choose horn).

Aid we'll help you mix and match on the computer until yog find the exact the sofa the you want. Deliver in 30 days. Completely backed by the best warranty in Me business. Storm KEYS, FROM 1A reported destroyed on Key Largo as the storm delivered its final blows on its way out of the county. At Mile Marker 83, Islamora-da residents Beth Kamenstein and Ron Levy, who live in a two-story house on the beach, said the ocean was on their front porch which is usually 50 feet from the sea.

Its commingling with the flooding from the bayside, said Kamenstein. Our house is a little island sticking up out of the sea. At Mile Marker 72, in Calusa Cove Marina, a 60-foot yacht broke loose and cracked in half, then sank around 2 p.m. For a Category 1 storm, we cant believe the hard hit were taking, said Islamorada Fire Chief William Wagner III. In the Middle Keys, water covered the highway at high tide on Long Key and Grassy Key, then receded to reveal broken docks, tree limbs and sand on the pavement.

One tornado was confirmed in Islamorada, although there were no reports of damage. Winds whipped so strongly across the Keys bridges that one Monroe County Sheriffs deputy reported his windshield wipers were ripped right off the car as he drove to work Friday morning. HOMES MAROONED Residential areas and trailer arks remained marooned in vast lakes even as the storm moved north into the Upper Keys, where four homes were reported destroyed in Key Largo in the Ocean Resorts at Mile Marker 95. The mobile home park is on the ocean side of the island and the homes were overturned by a deadly combination of driving wind and surging tides, said Capt. Joe Leiter of the Monroe County Sheriffs Office.

With each band of weather that came in, the winds would gust to 65 mph or 70 mph, and the waves would keep pounding the homes, he said. They were right on the ocean. It just destroyed them, turned them on their sides. U.S. 1, the only road into or out of the Keys, was closed at marker 75 as water and sand covered both lanes and crews worked to make the highway passable.

E7T3 SELECTED on the islands. In Key West, Atlantic Boulevard on the southeastern shore was two feet under, but that didnt stop sightseers from braving the passage in their cars despite a city curfew from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Last year, we had Georges and that was pretty bad. And then came right after that, and that was a mess, said townhouse along Atlantic Boulevard.

This isnt quite as bad, but weve still got a lot of water. And I think were going to have a lot of water for a while. The storm-water drains and sewer lines intended to carry away water were filled to the brim, according to Greg Smith, the project manager for the company that runs Key Wests sewage treatment plant and drainage systems. Between the wind and the tide and the rain, it completely flooded our infrastructure, Smith said. It was enough to stack the water up.

CURFEW ORDERED Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley ordered a curfew at 8 a.m., telling residents to stay in their homes and off flooded streets. The order was widely disregarded, as Key Westers and tourists alike emerged from their lodgings in the morning as Irenes eye trailed over the island. While there was little damage from the wind, breaking waves crashed over the Southernmost Point, sending brown spray eight feet into the air. Kids boogie-boarded off Rest Beach and rode rafts down the middle of the First Street. The end of the White Street Pier, normally a huge rectangle several feet above water, was turned into a swimming pool.

Weekley conceded that few had observed the curfew, but said it was a necessary precaution. Generally, he said, he was relieved at the state Key West emerged in. This was really a lamb compared to some of the other ones, especially comparing it to Georges year, Weekley said. We had a lot less damage. We were fortunate that it didnt have enough time to build up more of an impact heading across the Straits.

Herald staff writer Meg Laughlin contributed to this story. other winning numbers, prize Rcwe North Dade Palmetto X-presswav NV 12th Ave. Next to Compusa 305-621-1199 South Dade 8935 Dixie Hwy 1 Block South Dadelartd 305-669-1840 WET RIDE: Tom Truehart, 34, of Key West, walks his bike across a flooded street. Hurricane Irene submerged many island roadways. ane Leather 4 nw, Oute EtefAee NORTH DADE 2250 NE 163 Street BiKave Th Railroad Tracks Ari south Of Tht Aventura Mall (305) 947-4627 CARL JUSTE HERALD STAFF Keys power companies fired up their local plants and asked their customers to conserve power until the tieline is restored.

About 2,000 Florida Glenda Hoffman, who lives in a Keys Electric Co-operative customers were expected to be without power this morning, while almost all City Electric System customers should have power though if demand is high, the utility may begin rotating blackouts. FLOODING WIDESPREAD While Irenes winds did some damage, it was the water that really made an impression. Neighborhoods from Key West to Key Largo were saturated, then inundated, as the storm dumped almost a foot of rain THURSDAY, OCT. 14 For From 1 p.m. on until early evening, three feet of water covered U.S.

1 between mile markers 73 and 75, making it impassable. The road was eventually re-opened. Weve had a front-end loader out there for four hours trying to clear the water off the highway, but it just keeps coming, said Wagner Friday afternoon. The tieline that carries power to the Keys was turned off at Long Key in late morning. Just as that outage was repaired, a late band of the storm caused another problem near the Channel Five Bridge one that will be harder to repair because the power line is over the water there.

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