Tendai Franklyn-Brown, Staff Reporter

Residents walk along a flooded street through driving wind and rain from Hurricane Ike in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, on Sunday. - AP

Jamaicans are bracing for more heavy rains after the Meteorological Service yester-day issued a tropical storm watch for the island as Hurricane Ike continued its trail of blood and destruction through the northern Caribbean.

Thunderstorms and scattered showers emanating from the outer bands of the powerful hurricane are expected to affect Jamaica, which suffered billions of dollars of damage to its road infrastructure and agricultural sector from Tropical Storm Gustav, which lashed the eastern and southeastern regions of the country in late August. The banana crop, in particular, was virtually wiped out.

Torrential rains yesterday caused flooding in the St Catherine quasi-metropolis of Portmore and trig-gered a landslide in Gordon Town, St Andrew, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management reported.

Storm bands should affect mainlyJamaica's northern parishes. Weather coordinates place Ike on a projected path to either the United States Gulf Coast or Mexico.

Hurricane Ike - which at 7 o'clock last night had weakened to a Category Three system packing winds of 120mph (195kph) - ploughed into storm-weary Cuba, which has conducted mass evacuations of hundreds of thousands of residents.

The hurricane made landfall over northern Cuba late last night and could hit Havana, the capital of two million people with many vulnerable old buildings, later today.

More misery for haiti

Ike barrelled into the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands and The Bahamas on the weekend, shredded property and stripped off roofs.

Haiti - Jamaica's eastern neighbour which has been terrorised by four storms or hurricanes in four weeks - was pounded by Ike's winds, wreaking havoc on citizens who are prey to the country's deforested hillsides.

The hurricane claimed 58 lives, bringing Haiti's storm death toll since August to at least 310.

In Turks and Caicos, the hurricane destroyed 80 per cent of homes on two islands, and Prime Minister Michael Misick said several residents who opted against going to public shelters were "just holding on for life".

Courtney Robinson, the official spokesperson for the Emergency Operating Centre in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, told The Gleaner yesterday that the southern islands, including Grand Turk, South Caicos and Salt Cay, had suffered extensive damage.

"There have been unconfirmed reports of damage to property, landlines are down and there are areas of flooding and some electrical lines are down," he said.

An estimated 4,000 Jamaicans live in Turks and Caicos, several of whom were evacuated prior to the storm.

Robinson said an assessment of the damage would allow officials to determine whether the country could fund the recovery operation or seek international aid.

tendai.franklyn-brown@gleanerjm.com

ODPEM emergency numbers 928-5111-4