Hurricane Ike Takes Aim At Gulf

HAVANA (AP) - Winds are howling and heavy rains falling across Havana as Hurricane Ike continues its westward trek across Cuba.

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With Ike centered 40 miles south of Cuba's capital, Havana has the look of a ghost town with streets empty of both cars and people. More than a million people have evacuated their homes and at least four deaths are blamed on the storm.

Just 90 miles north of Havana, Ike's storm surge is causing minor flooding in Key West, Florida. Waves are crashing over the sea wall on Duval Street, and the outer bands are bringing rain and wind to the island.

Ike is forecast to move into the Gulf of Mexico later in the day and its 80 mile-per-hour winds are expected to grow stronger. Texas or northern Mexico could be hit by the weekend.

Ike Bearing Down On Havana

HAVANA (AP) - Hurricane Ike is blamed for four deaths so far in Cuba.

State television reports that two men were killed removing an antenna before Ike's arrival. Another man died when a tree fell on his house and knocked down a wall. And a woman perished when the roof of her house collapsed.

Ike has been spinning along Cuba's spine and toward the island's densely populated capital of Havana. The storm has forced the evacuation of 1.2 million people.

Much of eastern Cuba is without electricity and phone service is spotty. Thousands of homes have been damaged.

Meanwhile, residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast are bracing for Ike's next wallop.

Ike's a Category 1 storm with 80 mile an hour maximum sustained winds, but forecasters expect it to strengthen again before hitting Louisiana or Texas this weekend.