Summary

TAPE_NUMBER: EF99/1177 IN_TIME: 19:23:02 // 19:57:51 - 20:15:44 - 21:30:44 LENGTH: 02:28 SOURCES: Caribbean Broadcasting Union/Antigua Broadcasting Services RESTRICTIONS: FEED: VARIOUS (THE ABOVE TIME-CODE IS TIME-OF-DAY) SCRIPT: Natural Sound Hurricane Jose was downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday, after causing damage to a chain of Caribbean islands. Ripping roofs off homes, hurling sailboats out of harbors and disrupting traffic and tourism on the air, land and sea, Jose hurled through the tiny islands in the northeast Caribbean from early Wednesday. The most severely affected were the islands of St.Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua. After leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, forecasters say that the 10th storm of the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Jose, is moving out of the Caribbean and that its once-fearsome core had begun to break up. But although there was no reported loss of life, it caused structural damage and flooding in many small islands and left jangled nerves because of a zigzag course that brought hurricane warnings as far west as Puerto Rico. The eye of the storm directly passed over Antigua. Winds up to 100 miles per hour (160 kilometres per hour) ripped roofs from houses and a new church. One house was completely blown over on its side while phone lines were ripped from their poles. Rains flooded the airport, which officials hoped to reopen on Friday, flattened small palm trees and left islanders without power and water service. Early reports from Antigua's National Office of Disaster Services said one person was missing and 17 were injured. To try and protect themselves from the storm people were doing last minute boarding up of their homes and some where evacuated to secure buildings. Another severely affected islands was St. Kitts. More than 15 hours of rain caused severe flooding and landslides on the western side. In Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands trees were uprooted and electrical and telephone lines mangled. Police on Dutch St. Maarten, where dozens of yachts sought a safe position in the harbour, said high seas flung three sailboats out of Simpson Bay. But with the storm moving out to sea, Puerto Rico's Civil Defence said that the 350 people who sought refuge in shelters Wednesday night were heading home. SHOTLIST: XFA St. John's, Eastern Antigua, Antigua - October 20 St. John's 1. Various of storm damage during hurricane 2. Wide of flooding on beach during hurricane 3. Roof ripped off by hurricane 4. House on its side Eastern Antigua 5. Tracking shots of telephone cables St. John's 6. Wide of hurricane swept street 7. Man boarding up house 8. Wide of hurricane swept street 9. People in evacuated to local school 10. Wide of hurricane swept street?