Ike kills dozens in Haiti, heads for Cuba

MIAMI, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Hurricane Ike was demoted to a Category 3 storm Sunday, after taking dozens of lives in Haiti and heading for Cuba with winds near 120 mph, forecasters said.

At least 10 people drowned in Haiti Sunday -- bringing the island's death toll from the storm to at last 48, The New York Times reported.

The Cuban government has evacuated several communities and authorities in the Florida Keys ordered residents and tourists to leave, the newspaper said. Residents were evacuated Sunday from the Key West Convalescent Center in Key West, Fla.

At 8 p.m. EDT, Ike was centered about 60 miles north of Guantanamo, Cuba, moving west at 14 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm was expected to take a west to west-northwest track, which would take the core of the hurricane away from the Bahamas and over or near eastern Cuba Sunday night and early Monday, and near or over central Cuba later Monday.

Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center of the storm.

"Fluctuations in strength are possible tonight but Ike is expected to remain a major hurricane as it approaches eastern Cuba," the hurricane center said in a statement. "Ike is expected to weaken as it moves over eastern and central Cuba on Monday."

Storm surge flooding of 9-12 feet is expected, the center said, along with "large and dangerous battering waves." Associated rains will total 6-10 inches over wide areas, and up to a foot in isolated areas, likely producing flash flooding and mudslides.

Along with parts of Cuba, hurricane warnings remained in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands, and parts of the Bahamas. A hurricane watch was in effect for the Florida Keys, a tropical storm warning for parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and a tropical storm watch for the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.