Hurricane Gustav gaining strength south of Haiti; may become Category 3 storm

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A rapidly strengthing hurricane Gustav continues to bear down on Haiti, with forecasters saying it could reach Category 2 status before hitting the impoverished Caribbean country later Tuesday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Gustav currently has maximum sustained winds near 150 kilometres an hour. But it says Gustave could become a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 154 km/h or even higher before hitting Haiti later in the day.

The storm was also on track to slice along the south coast of Cuba later in the week - possibly growing into a perilous Category 3 hurricane with 185 km/h winds.

The eye of the storm is on course to pass near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

But with only light rain falling in the capital, and sunny skies elsewhere, ordinary Haitians so far appeared to be taking the hurricane threat lightly.

Port-au-Prince’s rough streets, often bustling with commerce at the crack of dawn, were largely empty as merchants took refuge. But there were few signs ordinary Haitian were making preparations.

In Les Cayes, a hurricane-prone city in southwestern Haiti smack in Gustav’s path, at least some people without access to television or satellite images said they doubted a storm was even approaching.

“There’s no rain and wind, the sky is clear, cars are travelling everywhere. I don’t think there’s a hurricane,” said Marc Andre, a 22-year-old motorcyle taxi driver.

Yet Haitians are accustomed to the power of such blasts. Earlier this month, tropical storm Fay killed 23 people on the island of Hispaniola shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Nearly all were due to flooded rivers.

Flooding caused by storms and hurricanes killed more than 100 people in Haiti and scores in the Dominican Republic last year. In 2004, tropical storm Jeanne killed some 3,000 people in the Haitian city of Gonaives alone.

American Airlines cancelled all flights in and out of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday.

On Monday, Carnival Cruise Lines diverted one of its ships from Montego Bay, Jamaica, to a Mexican port to avoid the storm, company spokesman Vance Gulliksen said. Other cruise lines said they were closely tracking the storm’s its path.

In Jamaica, officials alerted shelters to prepare for possible evacuations during the storm, which is is forecast to pass near the island Wednesday.

Tuesday morning, Gustave was centred about 125 kilometres south-southeast of Port-au-Prince and moving northwest at 15 km/h.