KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sept 11 (AFP) - Debris-choked ocean waters poured through seaside streets of the Jamaican capital early Saturday as Hurricane Ivan pounded the island, packing winds near 245 kilometers (150 miles) per hour.
The storm, the worst to hit the region in decades, has already killed at least 27 people in Grenada, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Tobago, and triggered panic buying and mass evacuations in parts of Cuba and Florida.
Seven-meter (23-foot) waves slammed the coastline of the Caribbean island nation of 2.7 million, where a state of emergency was declared at midday Friday.
Power blinked off over the island, and rivers overflowed, sweeping away homes and flooding neighborhoods with waist-high waters roiling with tree branches, boulders and debris.
"Flooding is already begun in some places," Prime Minister PJ Patterson declared around midday Friday. "I will be advising the governor general to issue a proclamation declaring a period of public emergency in the island and its territorial waters with immediate effect."
He pleaded with residents to evacuate coastal areas but many ignored the order saying they feared looting.
At 5:00 am (0900 GMT), the center of Hurricane Ivan was about 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Montego Bay, Jamaica, after a "wobble" in its path kept the eye and the strongest winds surrounding it just south of the island, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane force winds extended 75 kilometers (45 miles) from the center, and tropical force winds up to 280 kilometers (175 miles), it said.
Ivan was pointed next at Cuba and the Florida Keys, the southern string of causeway-linked islands where residents were packing up under a mandatory evacuation and heading for the mainland.
Jamaican authorities pleaded for 500,000 people to leave coastal areas most at risk from the massive storm, which has already killed 17 in Grenada, five in Venezuela, four in the Dominican Republic and one in Tobago.
The tiny spice island of Grenada, population 100,000, suffered catastrophic damage in the storm, according to Prime Minister Keith Mitchell.
Up to 90 percent of buildings on the island were damaged, crops were destroyed and tourist resorts were in ruins. Looting and sporadic violence followed in the wake of the storm, prompting the United States to organize an evacuation of some 1,500 of its citizens living there.
Air Jamaica canceled all flights in and out of the country, the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper reported, and "all aircraft were ferried out of Kingston and Montego Bay to the United States last night until the hurricane passes.
"The airline has advised that if there is no major damage to the island's two international airports, and the authorities feel it is safe to reopen them, it will resume some flights on schedule (Saturday) while others will be canceled," the daily reported.
The Jamaican government sent buses to help move residents from high-risk areas.
One older woman, who was not identified, told Jamaican television people had survived hurricane Charley in 1951 and Gilbert in 1988 and they would ride this one out.
Another old man said that if he was going to die, he preferred to do so in his own home. A number of persons said they were not too keen to leave as they did in 1988 to have looters prey on their properties.
In Cuba, where Ivan was due to hit Sunday, more than 40,000 of the island's 11 million people had been evacuated. The armed forces were ordered to prepare air raid shelters to operate as hurricane shelters.
Cuba's preparations come nearly one month after Hurricane Charley left five people dead there and an estimated one billion dollars in damage.
Authorities in Florida ordered the complete evacuation of the Florida Keys, a 193-kilometer (120-mile) island chain.
Forecasts showed the powerful hurricane could slam into Key West, the westernmost tip of the archipelago, Monday.
Thousands of cars, many towing boats, clogged the only road from the keys to the mainland late Friday.
"You can't take a chance," said Fernando Reyes, 37, as he finished packing his car in Key Largo for the trip north. "This one looks like it's going to hit and hit bad."