Jeanne hits Puerto Rico, strands tourists

YABUCOA, Puerto Rico — Tropical storm Jeanne slammed into Puerto Rico on Wednesday, flooding neighborhoods, knocking out power and stranding thousands of tourists in the U.S. territory where hundreds fled low-lying areas. At least two people were killed.

Torrents of rain turned roads into waist-deep rivers, and the winds tore branches from trees and left at least 30,000 people in the U.S. territory without water. Authorities also turned off power to prevent plant damage.

The storm's eye made landfall near the southeastern town of Yabucoa around noon EDT, said Scott Stripling, a U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital. The storm began exiting the island around 5 p.m. on a course for the Dominican Republic, he said.

Jeanne could continue dumping rain on Puerto Rico through Friday because the storm's tail extends some 200 miles, said Rafael Mojica, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Hurricane-strength wind gusts buffeted the mountainous interior of the island, which is home to some 4 million people. Many islanders fled low-lying areas.

Jeanne became the 10th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season Tuesday and was moving west-northwest near 9 mph. The National Hurricane Center said Jeanne could strengthen as it moved into the Atlantic and could become a hurricane by today.

The storm's projected path had it potentially reaching hurricane-weary Florida, Georgia and South Carolina either Sunday or Monday.

Between 8 and 10 inches of rain were expected in Puerto Rico, which last was struck by Hurricane Georges in 1998. Isolated tornadoes also were possible.

All ports were closed. Gov. Sila Calderon prohibited alcohol sales and urged residents to stay indoors as the storm passed. The largest mall in the Caribbean — Plaza las Americas — also shut down.

"The biggest concern for Puerto Rico is flash flooding and mudslides," said Hector Guerrero, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Nearly 800 people fled to shelters.

Margarita Rivera was killed when lashing winds tore the roof from her house and flung her from a hammock into the side of a neighbor's house, said Yabucoa's Mayor Angel Garcia.

"I don't know what happened," her husband, Santiago Borges, said as emergency medical workers treated his minor injuries. "The roof flew off with everything."

On the north coast, in Vega Baja, 78-year-old Arturo Roman Crespo was on a roof trying to put up storm shutters when he fell to the ground and was killed instantly, police said. They also reported a man injured in the central town of Lares when a tree hit his car.

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