Ike Makes landfall in Western Cuba...

As of 8am, Hurricane Ike is 765 miles south of Augusta, and about 40 miles south of Havana Cuba. Ike is moving west at 13 mph with maximum sustained winds of 80mph.

Ike is forecast to move over the waters between the Isle of Youth and South Coast of Havana Province during the next several hours and then move over western Cuba later today.

Ike is a Category One Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Some strengthening is possible before Ike moves over Western Cuba today
Officials along the U.S. Gulf Coast are paying close attention.

A phased evacuation for residents of the Florida Keys began this
morning.

A spokeswoman at the state Emergency Operations Center
says people have been leaving.

The region could feel some of the effects of Ike starting tomorrow night.

A forecaster says Ike is a "very dangerous storm'' that is expected to remain a "major hurricane'' in the next couple of days, even with some "ups and downs'' in its strength.

If the storm heads toward New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin says it
will be hard to move people out in the kind of numbers that left for Hurricane Gustav. Many of those evacuees are just now getting back home.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has promised the necessary help, not just in the recovery from Gustav but also in the event Ike hits the state.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)