Ike Moves To Cuba, May Miss Keys

GONAIVES, Haiti -- Hurricane Ike is now moving in on Cuba on a course that could skirt the Florida Keys by Tuesday on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

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In Cuba, the government has evacuated vulnerable communities ahead of Ike's strike Sunday night and Monday before it heads toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.

In Key West, evacuation orders became mandatory Sunday for both tourists and the city's 25,000 residents. Traffic along the lone highway off the island has been steady but not jammed, with some people planning to tough it out unless the storm turns.

Ike is expected to make landfall late in the week somewhere between the Florida panhandle and the Texas coast.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Ike.

The emergency declaration will extend from Sept. 6 to Oct. 5 unless Jindal ends it sooner.

The governor said Sunday that Ike is expected to make landfall on the Louisiana coast close to Sept. 13.

Louisiana is still recovering from Hurricane Gustav and many evacuees have just begun returning to their homes.

In addition to his declaration, Jindal wrote a letter to the president asking that he declare a federal state of emergency. Jindal wrote that he believes Ike will overwhelm the capability of his state’s emergency management teams to deal with the situation.

"I anticipate that the effects of the storm will overwhelm the capability of state resources and it is necessary that critical pre-positioning and other readiness requirements be provided through federal assistance. I request that federal resources be activated to assist with the evaluation of the incident and evacuation and sheltering operations," Jindal wrote. "I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments, and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster."

If the president enacted a declaration, it would open up the delivery of even more money and supplies to the area.

Jindal said he hopes "hurricane fatigue" won't prevent people from leaving their homes for what would be the second time in 10 days.

David Myers, of New Orleans, said it would take a Category 4 storm to get him to leave again so soon. Ike is currently a Category 3 hurricane, with winds of 120 mph. It's expected to weaken further over Cuba, but then power up again over the Gulf.

There's a lot of damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands from Hurricane Ike, which roared through on Sunday with 135-mph winds. Officials report most of the homes on two of the islands were damaged or destroyed. Ike's most powerful winds are still blowing on other islands, and it's too early to know the number of deaths or injuries.

In a church that sheltered about 50 people in the southern Bahamas, the screaming winds threatened to peel the plywood from the windows. The shelter manager says the pastor there led everyone in prayer.

Ike Kills 48 In Haiti

For the second time in a week, people in Haiti have been forced to their rooftops to escape floodwaters.

Haiti is a still a long way from recovery after Hurricane Hanna -- but now, the rain from Hurricane Ike is adding to the misery. Homes have been inundated again. A bridge on the last open land route to the desperate city of Gonaives has collapsed.

In a coastal town, officials said 48 drowned overnight. That brings to more than 298 the country's overall death toll from four storms in recent weeks.

U.N. peacekeepers set out again Sunday in trucks to deliver more aid to Gonaives. Scores of young men splashed alongside, begging for help. U.N. security was beefed up to keep order, as thousands waited in line around a warehouse that became a U.N. shelter.

Ike was making its way past the Bahamas Sunday afternoon on a heading toward Cuba. At last report, its top winds were near 135 mph, making it a Category 4 storm at that time. It has since been downgraded.

Cuba Prepares For Ike