SALVO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Hurricane Ike menaced Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico as a potentially ferocious storm while Tropical Storm Hanna began a rain-swept march up the U.S. Atlantic coast after barreling ashore on Saturday in the Carolinas.The densely populated Miami-Fort Lauderdale area in south Florida was not out of the line of fire from Ike, a powerful Category 3 hurricane, and visitors were ordered to flee the vulnerable Florida Keys island chain from Saturday.Computer models, however, indicated Ike was increasingly likely to target Cuba as a devastating Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, presenting a severe threat to the crumbling colonial buildings of Havana.Hurricane Ike is visible east-northeast of Grand Turk Island in a satellite image taken September 5, 2008. REUTERS/NOAA/HandoutView Larger Image View Larger ImageHurricane Ike is visible east-northeast of Grand Turk Island in a satellite image taken September 5, 2008. R EUTERS/NOAA/HandoutThe storm might then curve into the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of this week's Hurricane Gustav, plowing toward an area that produces a quarter of domestic U.S. oil, and slamming ashore near New Orleans, which was swamped and traumatized by Hurricane Katrina three years ago.The deeper Ike goes into Cuba, the weaker it will be once it re-emerges over the Gulf of Mexico early next week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said."Later on, conditions appear rather conducive for strengthening over the Gulf of Mexico," the Miami-based agency added.Hanna, meanwhile, did not reach hurricane strength before sloshing ashore between North and South Carolina overnight.It was forecast to move rapidly northeast along the East Coast over the weekend, bringing heavy rains and a risk of flash flooding to the mid-Atlantic states and southern New England. More than 3 inches of rain had already fallen in South Carolina.North Carolina emergency management officials said they had no early reports of fatalities or major damage."We have reports of between 9,000 and 12,000 homes without power in the east," spokesman Mark Van Sciver said. "There is also some localized flooding."More than 1,500 people were in 45 hurricane shelters along the coast and North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency.From Georgia to New Jersey, beach communities were under evacuation orders, campgrounds were shut and storm alerts were issued.Hanna was about 40 miles east-southeast of Raleigh, North Carolina, by early morning and racing toward the northeast at 22 miles per hour (35 km per hour). Its winds had dipped to near 50 miles per hour (80 km per hour).IKE A SERIOUS THREATIke was far more threatening than Hanna as it charted a course that would take it through the Turks and Caicos islands and southeastern Bahamas toward eastern Cuba, where it was projected by the hurricane center to pummel a long stretch of coastline.Once in the Gulf of Mexico it might fi nd deep warm water to allow it to grow bigger and stronger, although Hurricane Gustav may have stirred up colder water from the depths before crashing into Louisiana on Monday.By 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), Ike was located around 210 mileseast of Grand Turk Island and moving toward the west-southwest at 16 mph (26 kph), the hurricane center said.Its top winds of 115 mph (185 kph) made it a weak Category 3 hurricane. Category 3 and higher storms are known as "major" hurricanes and cause the most damage. Katrina was a Category 3 when it struck near New Orleans on August 29, 2005, swamping the city and killing 1,500 people on the U.S. Gulf Coast.Ike's winds were projected to peak at 132 mph (213 kph) just before landfall in Cuba in 48 hours.South Florida, where up to 1.3 million people could be forced to evacuate, was preparing for Ike. Visitors were ordered to evacuate the Florida Keys on Saturday and residents were ordered out beginning on Sunday. Officials in Miami urged resident s not to be complacent.Storm alerts were issued for the Turks and Caicos islands, the Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and would likely be issued for eastern Cuba later on Saturday, the hurricane center said.The alerts in Haiti included the city of Gonaives, where at least 495 people died this week when it was flooded by up to 16 feet of muddy water after Hanna dumped torrential rain on the island of Hispaniola, a police commissioner said. In total, Hanna killed 529 people in Haiti.The Bahamian government sent soldiers and emergency supplies to Mayaguana and San Salvador, southern islands left short of food and water by an overdue mail boat."If we have heavy flooding and lose power, we could be in an uncomfortable situation," said chief councilor Earnel Brown of the island of Mayaguana.Tropical Storm Josephine, meanwhile, dissipated far out in the Atlantic, knocking out the weakest of three storms that followed Gustav's rampage through the Caribbean to Louisiana.Ne ws Courtesy : ReutersGet More Articles and Info at htp://
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