Hanna hits US coast with Hurricane Ike looming

MIAMI, Sept 6 (AFP) Tropical Storm Hanna hit the US states of South and North Carolina with full force early Saturday, prompting coastal residents to seek refuge inland and authorities to declare a state of emergency. Meanwhile, the even more powerful Hurricane Ike threatened Caribbean islands and the United States.brHanna, which has already left dozens dead in Haiti , triggered emergency operations along more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) of the North and South Carolina coastline.brThe US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said the storm made landfall along the border between South and North Carolinas at about 320 a.m. (0720 GMT), lashing the coast with gale force winds, a storm surge and heavy rains.brThe governors of North Carolina and Virginia declared states of emergency. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford called for people to evacuate two counties.brAs it hit dry land, the stormed packed sustained winds near 110 kilometers (70 miles) per hour, according to the NHC.brSeveral southern US states have endured Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav in recent weeks and officials expressed concern that people along the coast were not taking Hanna seriously. Authorities also kept a wary eye on the more formidable Hurricane Ike out in the Atlantic.brIke was forecast to spare Haiti while the Caribbean nation struggled to recover from devastating flooding from Hanna which killed 163 people. At least for now Haiti looks likely to be spared yet another hit, NHC spokeswoman Karina Castillo said.brThe poorest country in the Americas is now reeling from the devastation inflicted by three storms in as many weeks that killed more than 280 people.brThe country's third largest city Gonaives remained under water following Hanna, and Senator Yuri Latortue who represents the city called the situation catastrophic.brI know perfectly well that the hurricane season has hit our entire country, but the situation in Gonaives is truly special, because now some 200,000 people there haven't eaten in three days, Latortue said.brA lifeline was extended to thousands when a boat carrying World Food Program relief supplies docked at Gonaives port, the WFP said.brHaiti's government pleaded for international aid, and the United Nations prepared an emergency appeal. Switzerland, France, the United States, the European Union and the Red Cross were among early aid givers.brIke was on course to pummel the Bahamas Saturday and Sunday before possibly slamming into Cuba, another island nation recently battered by this hurricane season's conga line of storms. brIke is then forecast to make landfall in south Florida on Wednesday as a major hurricane, Castillo warned. brDensely populated south Florida, including the cities of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, has not been hit by a major hurricane since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 -- the costliest natural disaster in US history until it was topped by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.