Voice of America, 7 September 2008

Hurricane Ike has strengthened to an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm as it maintains a course that threatens the Bahamas, Cuba, and the U.S. Gulf Coast.

At last report, at 2 p.m. EDT, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ike was located just west of Great Inagua Island in the southeastern Bahamas, with maximum sustained winds of 135 miles per hour.

Forecasters say the hurricane is heading westward at 13 miles per hour. It is expected to move over eastern Cuba Sunday night and central Cuba early Monday, dumping up to 20 inches of rain over the island.

Storm surge flooding is expected to be 13 to 18 feet above normal tide levels.

Officials in Florida have ordered tourists and residents to evacuate the state's Keys island chain. U.S President George Bush has declared a state of emergency for Florida and ordered federal aid to supplement relief efforts.

Meanwhile, heavy flooding caused by Hurricane Ike has killed at least 10 people in Haiti. In the central city of Gonaives, a key bridge collapsed, cutting off the city from desperately needed aid supplies.

An estimated 500 people in Haiti have been killed over the past week from a series of storms.

International aid efforts are underway to help thousands of Haitians who have been without food and clean water for days as a result of heavy flooding caused by the severe weather.

The European Union has announced it is giving the impoverished country $2.8 million to help the storm victims.

Haitian President René Preval had appealed for international help, He says the situation in his country is catastrophic. Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.