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Haiti bus overturns in Fay-flooded river
By EVENS SANON
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — An overloaded bus overturned while trying to drive across a river surging with rain from Tropical Storm Fay, sweeping passengers into the water, officials said. At least 30 people were missing and feared dead.
The bus was trying to cross the Riviere Glace on Haiti's southern peninsula when it flipped and dozens of people disappeared downstream, said Silvera Guillaume, the coordinator for Haiti's civil protection department in the area.
At least 23 people were rescued from the river, Guillaume said. No bodies have been recovered from the river, and it was not clear how many people were on the bus, which was traveling from Port-au-Prince to Jeremie on the peninsula's western tip, because there was no formal passenger list.
Witnesses said at least two other buses crossed the river safely just before the third flipped. David Pierre, one of three mayors of Beaumont, the town where the incident happened, told Radio Metropole that officials have been trying to get a bridge built in the area for years because of flooding.
Fay, the sixth storm of the 2008 Atlantic season, spared Cuba on Monday and moved into the Florida Straits, as rain and wind gusts began to lash at south Florida.
At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), Fay was centered 70 miles (115 kms) southeast of Key West. It had maximum winds of 60 mph (100 kmh) and was moving northwest near 13 mph (20 kmh).
Roughly 25,000 tourists had evacuated, Monroe County Mayor Mario Di Gennaro said, but some bars and restaurants were doing business even if crowds were considerably thinner than usual.
"We're gonna ride it out," said Willie Dykes, 58, who lives on a sailboat in Key West. "We're not worried about it. We've seen this movie before."
Cuban authorities evacuated nearly 10,000 residents in five provinces, closing ports and pulling fishing boats out of the water. They also suspended traditional carnival celebrations in the central province of Cienfuegos.
But their worst fear — a direct hit on Old Havana's dilapidated buildings — was not realized. There were no reports of major damage or flooding, and most evacuees were headed home Monday.
State media said authorities had been ready to "protect" the 24,000 foreign tourists in the beach resort of Varadero, on the island's north coast. But only a light rain was falling in Varadero on Monday and there was no flooding, even after Fay's center chugged close by en route back to warm sea waters.
Portions of southeastern Cuba, especially coastal areas, appeared to be the hardest-hit, with Fay's winds damaging the roofs of some homes and some water accumulating on roads and highways.
Minor flooding was reported at a banana plantation and other isolated areas, and state television showed images of stiff winds bending back palm trees and thin metal roofs.
Associated Press writers Brian Skoloff in Key West and Will Weissert in Havana contributed to this report.
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