Turks-Caicos News - Hurricane Ike Destroys Homes

Right now the Turks-Caicos Islands isn't the vacation paradise that beach lovers flock to. The tropical island was hit by Hurricane Ike on the heels of Hurricane Hanna, which dumped rains and flooded the islands that have little natural protection against these large tropical storms.

Turks and Caicos Premier, Michael Misick stated that as many as 80% of the homes on the main island were damaged and that a number of homes lost their roofs to the category 4 hurricane that packed maximum sustained winds of 135 miles per hour.

The Turks-Caicos Islands are home to around 30,000 people and is a popular tourist destination. It was too early to determine if there were any casualties or injuries caused by the massive Atlantic storm.

A hurricane warning remains in affect for the Turk-Caicos, and the storm is predicted to continue due west today with a turn toward the west-northwest expected on Monday. The National Weather Service stated that the government of the Cayman Islands has issued a tropical storm watch and that a tropical storm warning remains in effect for the western coast of the Dominican Republic to the northern border of Haiti.

Hurricane warning and watches remain in effect for much of Cuba. The Andros Island in the Bahamas is under a hurricane watch while the southeastern Bahamas are under a hurricane warning.

Hurricane Ike is currently located just east of the Great Inagua Island and is traveling at about 14 miles per hour. Large storm surges, torrential rains and flash floods are possible in these areas over the next 24 hours.