By Marc Frank
HAVANA (Reuters) - Hurricane Ike moved over warm Caribbeanwater off the Cuban coast on Monday after blowing off roofs,toppling trees and flattening sugar cane fields like a giantlawn mower on a path toward U.S. oil fields in the Gulf ofMexico.
The deadly hurricane lost some of its power over Cuba butwas still causing widespread damage. It could restrengthensouth of Cuba over warm water, "a very powerful fuel," saidforecaster Jose Rubiera of the Cuban weather service.
Ike's approach further disrupted energy output from theGulf, which produces a quarter of U.S. oil and 15 percent ofits natural gas. Much of that production was first shut downbefore Hurricane Gustav pounded the region last week.
Ike was expected to hit eastern Texas, but a smalldeviation could threaten New Orleans, the city swamped in 2005when Hurricane Katrina killed 1,500 people and caused $80billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Gustav narrowlymissed the low-lying city protected by floodwalls and levees.
Ike tore roofs off houses when it hit Britain's Turks andCaicos Islands as a ferocious Category 4 hurricane on thefive-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, and floods triggeredby its torrential rains were blamed for at least 61 deaths inHaiti, where Tropical Storm Hanna killed 500 last week.
ANGRY WAVES
Ike weakened to a Category 2 storm with 100 mph (160 kph)winds after roaring ashore in northeastern Cuba late on Sundaynear Punta Lucrecia, about 510 miles (820 km) southeast ofHavana.
Cuba's state-run television showed huge waves slamming intothe sea wall and surging as high as nearby five-story apartmentbuildings before flooding the streets of the city of Baracoanear the eastern tip of the Communist-ruled island.
"The situation here is pretty grave," said Cecilio, areceptionist at a hotel in Camaguey. "A lot of water and strongwinds. The hotel is OK, but looking out you can see plasticroofing, foliage and other stuff flying around in alldirections."
The storm stripped ripening coffee from trees in the east,where 85 percent of Cuba's coffee is grown, paralyzed thenickel industry and destroyed sugar infrastructure. Sugarprices rose as Ike moved across the key Caribbean growingregion.
Forecasters said Ike would pass near or over Havana as itleaves the island on Tuesday. Authorities began evacuating tensof thousands of residents from crumbling tenements, low-lyingneighbourhoods and areas along the north coast.
"Attention Havana, attention Havana. Havana is on hurricanealert. All residents must strictly follow the instructions ofthe civil defence," local radio said repeatedly.
Officials said at least 1.5 million people were evacuatedfrom vulnerable areas in Cuba, which is still reeling fromHurricane Gustav's strike on western provinces last week.
At 11 a.m. (4 p.m. British time), Ike was 45 miles (72 km)west-southwest of Camaguey, Cuba, heading west at 14 mph (23kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said, adding that Cubacould see up to 20 inches (50 cm) of rain.
FLORIDA KEYS EVACUATION
Just to the north of Cuba, schools, hospitals andgovernment offices were closed in the Florida Keys, a 110-mile(177-km) island chain connected by a single road. The islandswere not expected to take a direct hit, but tourists wereevacuated. Residents had also been ordered out but that measurewas allowed to expire as Ike took a more southerly route.
The storm dumped more rain on Haiti, which has been swampedby four storms in the last few weeks. Officials said 57 of the61 victims died in Cabaret, a town north of the capital.
The U.S. Navy ship Kearsarge arrived near Haiti on Mondaywith eight helicopters and three landing craft to help deliverrelief supplies, the U.S. military said.
Forecaster expected Ike to be a Category 1 hurricane whenit emerges from Cuba's north coast on Tuesday.
It is then expected to strengthen to a Category 3 withsustained winds above 110 mph (177 kph) when it approaches theU.S. coast on Saturday. Its likeliest destination was eastTexas, but several computer models take it ashore in Louisianawest of New Orleans, not far from where Gustav hit last week.
Energy companies delayed the restart of offshore oil andnatural gas production because of Ike, which was likely to pareinventories in coming weeks. Shell Oil Co said it planned toevacuate all Gulf offshore personnel by Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Joseph Guyler Delva inPort-au-Prince, Rosa Tania Valdes and Jeff Franks in Havana,Erwin Seba in Houston, Richard Valdmanis in New York; Writingby Jim Loney; Editing by Michael Christie and Jackie Frank)
