The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Havana

Tropical storm Fay pummeled western Cuba early Monday and barreled toward the Florida Keys after claiming at least 11 lives in the Dominican Republic and Haiti amid forecasts it would hit hurricane force. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic due to the heavy rains, while thousands were evacuated, local media reported. In Haiti, where a bus plunged into a river reportedly killing dozens, the heavy rains killed seven people and left another three missing, civil protection officials told AFP. Maximum sustained winds from the sixth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season were clocked at 85 kilometers (50 miles) per hour, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said. But, the center said that "Fay could be approaching hurricane strength when it nears the Florida Keys Monday night." At 0600 GMT, the storm was located about 180 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of Havana. Fay was moving westwards at 20 kilometers (13 miles) per hour, and expected to turn north later Monday. "There exists a possibility of moderate flooding on the southern and northern shores of the island and in its western parts," warned Jose Rubiera, director of the Center of Forecasts at the Cuban Institute of Meteorology.

After crossing Cuba, Fay is then expected to head up the west coast of Florida, hitting land near Tampa on Tuesday afternoon and moving straight north into Georgia.

In the Dominican Republic, more than 2,000 people were evacuated to shelters as the storm felled trees, damaged hundreds of houses and uprooted power lines disrupting supplies to more than 15,000 homes, according to local news reports.