CARACAS, Sept 8 (AFP) - Powerful and dangerous Hurricane Ivan churned off the Venezuelan coast Wednesday, shuttering airports nationwide, sparking mudslides and closing many roads, authorities said as more Caribbean islands braced for its furious arrival.
The "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 220 kilometers (140 miles) per hour, was moving at 26 kilometers (16 miles) per hour toward the west-northwest, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said at 1800 GMT.
It 165 kilometers (105 miles) northeast of the Caribbean island of Bonaire, the center said. Ivan was 1,190 kilometers (740 miles) from Jamaica.
Several Venezuelan airports, including the oil-exporting country's main international airport, Maiquetia, which serves Caracas, suspended operations until conditions improve, Air Force colonel Francisco Paz Freitas told Union Radio.
Another official said one person was hurt and 150 affected by floods in parts of the country.
Along the low-lying Caribbean coast, authorities reported mudlsides and road closings just as early rain bands from the storm unleashed the first downpours.
The storm was expected to be off the central coast later in the day, triggering heay rains and rough surf. Tha capital, Caracas, lies just a bit inland from there, protected somewhat by the El Avila mountain range.
Metropolitan fire chief Rodolfo Briceno urged residents of low-lying areas and along river banks to take extra precaution ahead of the storms expected onslaught.
Though the storm is not expected to make landfall in Venezuela, Interior and Justice Minister Jesse Chacon was urging calm and said havy winds and rain associated with the storm could last a total of 72 hours.
Ivan was expected to pass just north of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao on Friday as the Caribbean islands were under a hurricane warning, which means hurricane winds could hit them within 24 hours or less, the US hurricane center said.
A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning remain in effect for The Guajira peninsula of Colombia and for the entire northern coast of Venezuela, it noted. Haiti also issued a hurricane watch, meaning it could experience hurricane conditions within 36 hours.
The islands of Tobago, Grenada and St Vincent were mopping up Wednesday after Hurricane Ivan tore through, leaving significant damage.
Winds blew roofs off hundreds of house and a hospital in the St Vincent dependency of Union Island was significantly damaged.
Grenada parliamentarian Kenneth Fullerton described the scene as total destruction, adding that power lines had been ripped down and roads blocked by fallen trees.
Hundreds of people, Fullerton added, have been taken into shelters.
Children were left out of school in the Netherland Antilles while workers were told to stay home.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad is due to fly to Tobago this morning to asses the damage on the sister island.
Manning announced Tuesday his government would donate 1.6 million US dollars to St Vincent to help with reconstruction.