Hurricane Sandy’s howling winds and pelting rains lashed precarious shantytowns, stranded travelers and downed power lines Wednesday as it roared across Jamaica on a course that would take it on to Cuba and then possibly threaten Florida and the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)
Jamaica has been hit by the eye of a category 1 Hurricane Sandy on Wednesday evening, October 24, 2012, bringing heavy rain and powerful wind.
It was the first time since 24 years ago Jamaica had been hit directly by the eye of hurricane.
So far at least two people died, a man in Jamaica and a woman in Haiti due to the Hurricane Sandy.
The heavy rain brought by the hurricane can cause flash floods and mudslides that will cause more disaster to Jamaica.
After pounding Jamaica, Sandy then headed for an overnight landfall in eastern Cuba and then will go on to threaten the Bahamas and possibly Florida.
A view of the Hope River as it begins to swell with rain from approaching Hurricane Sandy in Kingston October 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy raced toward the southern coast of Jamaica on Wednesday and is expected to make landfall later in the day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. A hurricane warning was in effect for both Jamaica and Cuba, although forecasters said Sandy is expected to be a weak Category One hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, with winds topping out at 80 mph (130 kph). REUTERS/Gilbert BellamyResidents evacuate their home as waves crash in the Caribbean Terrace neighborhood of eastern Kingston, Jamaica, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica with heavy rain as it headed for landfall near the country’s most populous city on a track that would carry it across the Caribbean island to Cuba, and a possible threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)
A stop light hangs down during strong wind and rain as Hurricane Isaac pushes into the New Orleans metro area in Metairie, Louisiana, August 29, 2012. Hurricane Isaac drove water over the top of a levee on the outskirts of New Orleans on Wednesday, but the multibillion-dollar barriers built to protect the city itself after the 2005 Katrina disaster were not breached, officials said. REUTERS/Sean Gardner
The Category 1 Hurricane Isaac hit New Orleans exactly seven years after New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.
So far the new barriers built to protect the city after the 2005 Katrina disaster has not been breached.
Anyway a levee on the outskirts of New Orleans has been breached on Wednesday.
Emergency management officials in low-lying Plaquemines Parish reported the over topping of an 8-foot (2.4-meter) high levee between the Braithwaite and White Ditch districts southeast of New Orleans.
There are reports of people on their roofs and attics and 12 to 14 foot of water in their homes.
The greatest concern is an expected storm surge of between 6 and 12 feet off the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, 4 to 8 feet along the Alabama coast and 2 to 4 feet on the Florida Panhandle.
Storm surge is when hurricane winds raise sea levels off the coast, causing flooding on land.
Farther south, water was pushed over a rural levee and flooded some homes.
Beach front roads were under water, and more than a half-million people had lost power in Louisiana.
People play in the storm surge from Hurricane Isaac, on Lakeshore Drive along Lake Pontchartrain, as the storm nears land, in New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)Bay St. Louis, Miss., fireman David Stefano reacts as he and other first responders use an airboat to reach a house fire Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. Isaac’s rainfall flooded a number of streets in this Bay St. Louis subdivision, preventing firemen from responding quickly to the fire that destroyed a house. (AP Photo/Holbrook Mohr)People sit on a bench along the seawall in the storm surge from Isaac, on Lakeshore Drive along Lake Pontchartrain, as the storm approaches landfall, in New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)A storm surge pounds the seawall along Lake Pontchartrain as Isaac makes landfall. (AP)
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