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Hurricane Sandy pounds Jamaica, eyes U.S.
The storm was predicted to drop as much as 12 inches of rain, especially over central and eastern parts of Jamaica, the country's meteorological service said. Some isolated spots could see as much as 20 inches, according to U.S. forecasters. Battering waves and a strong storm surge were also forecast. By Wednesday afternoon, sea water was washing over the streets of Port Royal, a depressed fishing village at the tip of a spit of land near Kingston's airport.
More than 100 fishermen were stranded in outlying Pedro Cays, a lobster- and conch-rich area about 40 miles off Jamaica's southern coast. Some of them told local media they lacked fuel to get back to the mainland, but authorities said they willfully disobeyed an evacuation order.
On the mainland, hundreds of people moved to shelters, but others living in low-lying areas on the mainland refused to evacuate their homes because they were fearful that their possessions would be stolen.
Airports in Kingston and Montego Bay shut down for the day and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that its Allure of the Seas megaship would not stop at Jamaica's northern Falmouth terminal on Wednesday, remaining at sea instead. Other cruise lines also rerouted ships from port calls to Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
A warning siren wailed across the U.S. base at Guantanamo Wednesday as steady rain fell. The military warned the 5,500 people living on the base to begin storm preparations. Officials say there is no threat to the 166 prisoners.
Elsewhere in Cuba, authorities issued a hurricane watch for several provinces and there were intermittent rains over Haiti, where a tropical storm warning was in effect. A hurricane watch was issued for the central and northwestern Bahamas, where the storm was predicted to pass Thursday and Friday morning.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was centered 30 miles south of Kingston. It was moving north-northeast at 14 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the center.
Meanwhile, U.S. forecasters said Tropical Storm Tony had formed over the open Atlantic, but posed no threat to land. The storm had maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph and it was moving east-northeast at 21 mph. Its center was 1,245 miles west-southwest of the Azores.
The storm was predicted to drop as much as 12 inches of rain, especially over central and eastern parts of Jamaica, the country's meteorological service said. Some isolated spots could see as much as 20 inches, according to U.S. forecasters. Battering waves and a strong storm surge were also forecast. By Wednesday afternoon, sea water was washing over the streets of Port Royal, a depressed fishing village at the tip of a spit of land near Kingston's airport.
More than 100 fishermen were stranded in outlying Pedro Cays, a lobster- and conch-rich area about 40 miles off Jamaica's southern coast. Some of them told local media they lacked fuel to get back to the mainland, but authorities said they willfully disobeyed an evacuation order.
On the mainland, hundreds of people moved to shelters, but others living in low-lying areas on the mainland refused to evacuate their homes because they were fearful that their possessions would be stolen.
Airports in Kingston and Montego Bay shut down for the day and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that its Allure of the Seas megaship would not stop at Jamaica's northern Falmouth terminal on Wednesday, remaining at sea instead. Other cruise lines also rerouted ships from port calls to Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
A warning siren wailed across the U.S. base at Guantanamo Wednesday as steady rain fell. The military warned the 5,500 people living on the base to begin storm preparations. Officials say there is no threat to the 166 prisoners.
Elsewhere in Cuba, authorities issued a hurricane watch for several provinces and there were intermittent rains over Haiti, where a tropical storm warning was in effect. A hurricane watch was issued for the central and northwestern Bahamas, where the storm was predicted to pass Thursday and Friday morning.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was centered 30 miles south of Kingston. It was moving north-northeast at 14 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the center.
Meanwhile, U.S. forecasters said Tropical Storm Tony had formed over the open Atlantic, but posed no threat to land. The storm had maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph and it was moving east-northeast at 21 mph. Its center was 1,245 miles west-southwest of the Azores.
The storm was predicted to drop as much as 12 inches of rain, especially over central and eastern parts of Jamaica, the country's meteorological service said. Some isolated spots could see as much as 20 inches, according to U.S. forecasters. Battering waves and a strong storm surge were also forecast. By Wednesday afternoon, sea water was washing over the streets of Port Royal, a depressed fishing village at the tip of a spit of land near Kingston's airport.
More than 100 fishermen were stranded in outlying Pedro Cays, a lobster- and conch-rich area about 40 miles off Jamaica's southern coast. Some of them told local media they lacked fuel to get back to the mainland, but authorities said they willfully disobeyed an evacuation order.
On the mainland, hundreds of people moved to shelters, but others living in low-lying areas on the mainland refused to evacuate their homes because they were fearful that their possessions would be stolen.
Airports in Kingston and Montego Bay shut down for the day and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that its Allure of the Seas megaship would not stop at Jamaica's northern Falmouth terminal on Wednesday, remaining at sea instead. Other cruise lines also rerouted ships from port calls to Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
A warning siren wailed across the U.S. base at Guantanamo Wednesday as steady rain fell. The military warned the 5,500 people living on the base to begin storm preparations. Officials say there is no threat to the 166 prisoners.
Elsewhere in Cuba, authorities issued a hurricane watch for several provinces and there were intermittent rains over Haiti, where a tropical storm warning was in effect. A hurricane watch was issued for the central and northwestern Bahamas, where the storm was predicted to pass Thursday and Friday morning.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was centered 30 miles south of Kingston. It was moving north-northeast at 14 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the center.
Meanwhile, U.S. forecasters said Tropical Storm Tony had formed over the open Atlantic, but posed no threat to land. The storm had maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph and it was moving east-northeast at 21 mph. Its center was 1,245 miles west-southwest of the Azores.
The storm was predicted to drop as much as 12 inches of rain, especially over central and eastern parts of Jamaica, the country's meteorological service said. Some isolated spots could see as much as 20 inches, according to U.S. forecasters. Battering waves and a strong storm surge were also forecast. By Wednesday afternoon, sea water was washing over the streets of Port Royal, a depressed fishing village at the tip of a spit of land near Kingston's airport.
More than 100 fishermen were stranded in outlying Pedro Cays, a lobster- and conch-rich area about 40 miles off Jamaica's southern coast. Some of them told local media they lacked fuel to get back to the mainland, but authorities said they willfully disobeyed an evacuation order.
On the mainland, hundreds of people moved to shelters, but others living in low-lying areas on the mainland refused to evacuate their homes because they were fearful that their possessions would be stolen.
Airports in Kingston and Montego Bay shut down for the day and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that its Allure of the Seas megaship would not stop at Jamaica's northern Falmouth terminal on Wednesday, remaining at sea instead. Other cruise lines also rerouted ships from port calls to Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
A warning siren wailed across the U.S. base at Guantanamo Wednesday as steady rain fell. The military warned the 5,500 people living on the base to begin storm preparations. Officials say there is no threat to the 166 prisoners.
Elsewhere in Cuba, authorities issued a hurricane watch for several provinces and there were intermittent rains over Haiti, where a tropical storm warning was in effect. A hurricane watch was issued for the central and northwestern Bahamas, where the storm was predicted to pass Thursday and Friday morning.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was centered 30 miles south of Kingston. It was moving north-northeast at 14 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the center.
Meanwhile, U.S. forecasters said Tropical Storm Tony had formed over the open Atlantic, but posed no threat to land. The storm had maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph and it was moving east-northeast at 21 mph. Its center was 1,245 miles west-southwest of the Azores.
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