Ike Slams Cuba; 600 Dead in Haiti

Hurricane Ike has hit land in northeastern Cuba and is now sweeping across the country with savage 125 mph winds, Bloomberg reports. Over 800,000 people were evacuated before the arrival of the Category 3 hurricane, the second in just over a week to slam the country, AFP notes. “In all of Cuba's history, we have never had two hurricanes this close together,” said a meteorologist.

Dozens died in a Haitian village yesterday, bringing Ike’s death toll in the country to at least 600. Hundreds of thousands more desperately need food, water and shelter as 650,000 were affected by flooding after four major storms in three weeks. “What has happened here is unimaginable,” said a Haitian official. Ike is speeding on a route to the Gulf of Mexico. Officials yesterday urged the 80,000 residents of the Florida Keys to leave for the mainland. (More Hurricane Ike stories.)