GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands - Hurricane Ivan battered the Cayman Islands with ferocious 150 mph winds Sunday, flooding homes, ripping off roofs and toppling trees three stories tall as its powerful eye thundered past just offshore.
Ivan has killed at least 60 people across the Caribbean and was expected to strike western Cuba, where residents have dubbed the storm "Ivan the Terrible," today. More than 1-million Cubans were evacuated from their homes.
The hurricane, which grew to the most powerful Category 5 with 165 mph winds Saturday, lost some strength before tearing into the wealthy Cayman Islands chain, a popular scuba diving destination and banking center.
High winds prevented officials from assessing damage immediately. But Donnie Ebanks, deputy chairman of the British territory's National Hurricane Committee, estimated that as many as half of Grand Cayman's 15,000 homes were damaged.
The Cayman Islands were better prepared for the punishment than Grenada and Jamaica, which were slammed by Ivan in the past week - though Jamaica was spared a direct hit Saturday. The Caymans have strict building codes and none of the shantytowns and tin shacks common elsewhere in the Caribbean.
Still, emergency officials said residents from all parts of the island were reporting blown-off roofs and flooded homes.
