Cuba Rescues 250 Flood Victims From Wilma

Cuba Rescues 250 Flood Victims From Wilma
Cuban Rescue Teams Pull Nearly 250 to Safety in Flooded Havana Neighborhoods
By ANITA SNOW
The Associated Press

HAVANA - Hurricane Wilma drove the ocean over Havana's seawall Monday, spilling water into coastal neighborhoods of aging buildings and forcing rescuers to take to inflatable rafts to pull nearly 250 people from flooded homes.
The seaside Malecon highway was inundated as swirling brown waters spread up to four blocks inland, submerging cars and leaving only the bright blue tops of phone booths peeking out. Waves lapped at the front door of the Foreign Ministry as young men in wooden boats rowed nearby.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on the island Monday, although tornados spun off by the storm over the weekend injured six people in rural areas. Nearly 700,000 people were evacuated across Cuba's west in recent days as Wilma approached, the government said.
While Havana's coastal road and adjacent neighborhoods often flood during storms, the extent of flooding Monday was highly unusual.
"We're amazed," resident Laura Gonzalez-Cueto said as she watched government scuba divers bring out people in black inflatable rafts with outboard motors.
At least 244 people, including some children, were rescued during the morning, municipal official Mayra Lassale said.
Dozens of people braved wind and rain to watch mammoth waves crash over the Malecon seawall.
"The ocean is furious, as if it wants to take back the land," said Rodrigo Cubal, 42, standing with his family.
Throughout the capital, trees fell and branches and other debris were scattered across streets and highways.
The outer bands of Wilma flooded evacuated communities along Cuba's southern coast over the weekend while the hurricane clobbered Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The storm passed to Cuba's north Monday on its way to landfall in southern Florida.
Flooding and high winds Monday caused heavy damage to houses in the northern coastal community of Baracoa, just east of Havana.
In Mariel, a port east of Havana, people stood outside their homes watching as huge waves rolled in one after another. "I've never seen waves like this," said 30-year-old Joelsis Calderin.
The government shut off electricity throughout Havana and the island's western region before dawn in a standard safety precaution. Power remained out in most of the capital at midafternoon.
Associated Press writers Vanessa Arrington in Mariel and Andrea Rodriguez in Havana also contributed to this report.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

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