Hurricane Ike Comes Ashore In Western Cuba

Hurricane Ike has made landfall in the extreme southeastern part of the Cuban province of Pinar Del Rio.

The National Hurricane Center said the center of the Category 1 storm is located about 55 miles southwest of Havana, Cuba.

The wind was howling and heavy rain is falling across Havana, where streets are empty of cars and people.

The center is expected to emerge into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday afternoon.

Ike made landfall around 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. Ike is moving west-northwest near 13 mph, with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph.

On Tuesday morning, the storm surge from Ike was causing minor flooding in Key West, Fla.

Floodwaters were knee-deep in some parts of town.

As Cuba waited for Ike to blow over Tuesday, Texas and Louisiana were getting ready for the storm, which is forecast to make landfall along the Gulf Coast by the weekend.

A disaster has been predeclared in 88 Texas counties and Gov. Rick Perry has put 7,500 National Guard troops on standby.

Forecasters warn the storm could hit near Corpus Christi but say storm paths are hard to predict this far out.

In Louisiana, where thousands remain without power after Hurricane Gustav hit last week, Gov. Bobby Jindal is urging residents to stockpile food, water, batteries and other supplies.

His state has been getting shelters ready and is making plans for trains, buses and planes in case a coastal evacuation is called for.

Ike is supposed to deliver heavy rain and wind to the Florida Keys as it brushes by. Residents in the Florida Keys breathed a sigh of relief Monday as Ike turned west on a path away from the low-lying island chain.

The National Hurricane Center warned that isolated tornadoes and waterspouts are possible in the Florida Keys and south Florida Tuesday.

Forecasters said they expect the storm to strengthen again before hitting Louisiana or Texas.

Ike Kills 4 In Cuba

Ike is blamed for four deaths so far in Cuba.

Ike has been unleashing a barrage of rain and powerful winds on Cuba since Sunday night. Hundreds of homes are destroyed and hundreds more are damaged. Cuba has ordered hundreds of thousands of people to seek safety with friends and relatives or at government shelters.

State television reported 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 died 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.