Castro, Cuba get ready for Irene's winds

In the western province of Pinar del Rio, President Fidel Castro met with civil defense officials about the storm, which also battered Miami with rain, triggering a rash of traffic accidents during yesterday morning rush hour.

A hurricane warning was issued for the Florida Keys, as well as the a stretch of Florida coastline from Florida City to Boca Grande, about 85 miles south of Tampa. Areas north of Boca Grande and between Florida City and Jupiter Inlet, on the east coast of the peninsula, were put on hurricane watch.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Irene was centered about 65 miles southwest of Havana, and was moving north-northwest at 7 mph.

Irene, which had sustained winds of 75 mph, was expected to hit the Florida coast Sunday north of Tampa with winds near 95 mph. Forecasters predicted a potential 13-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay and up to 20 inches of rain.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury in Cuba or Florida.

In Cuba, government-controlled television showed Castro congratulating authorities on their "organizational capacities" during a tour west of the capital, Havana.

Cuba put into effect its civil defense program, which is based on a decades-old defense plan to mobilize the communist country. Castro has a strong interest in disaster planning, often visiting with defense authorities and meteorologists during hurricanes.

"Protect your life!" exhorted one public service TV announcement, warning people not to cross rivers or go fishing or swimming in the ocean during the storm.

About 130,000 people from western and central Cuba, many of them students in government boarding schools, were evacuated as the hurricane approached. Classes across the region were suspended. Stores, government offices and banks in Havana closed shortly after noon.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for the Isle of Youth, Pinar del Rio, Havana and Matanzas on the main island's northern coast. As much as a foot of rain was expected in many areas.

In Pinar del Rio, laborers worked to make sure water didn't leak into warehouses storing the tobacco leaves grown to make Cuba's famous cigars. Cattle and livestock in the rural region were moved to higher ground.

In Old Havana, housing officials were on the lookout for building collapses, common there when it rains. In Havana's Miramar neighborhood, just blocks away from the ocean, residents crisscrossed windows with masking tape.

Morning traffic in Havana was extremely light as many chose to take the day off rather get soaked waiting for the city's infamously slow buses.

In Florida, a full evacuation of the Keys was not expected, said Billy Wagner, Monroe County Emergency Management director. But officials began Wednesday to ask visitors in the lower Keys to leave just in case. Several storm shelters were to open in the Keys for people with special needs, those living in mobile homes and others at risk.

South of Cuba, a tropical storm warning was lifted for the Cayman Islands.

Tropical storms become hurricanes once their top sustained winds reach 74 mph. Irene is the sixth hurricane of the 1999 season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

10-15-99