Cuba extends cyclone alert to western provinces

A man looks at waves pounding Havana's Malecon as Hurricane Ike approaches in Havana September 8, 2008. Hurricane Ike blew through the warm Caribbean Sea toward western Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico oilfields on Monday after ripping the eastern side of the island with high winds and torrential rains that left a broad path of destruction.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

A fallen tree is seen next to a house after the eye of Hurricane Ike passes in Camaguey, Cuba September 8, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

A man makes his way through a flooded street on the impending arrival of Hurricane Ike in Baracoa, eastern Cuba Sept. 7, 2008. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

Cubans leave their home on the impending arrival of Hurricane Ike in Baracoa, eastern Cuba Sept. 7, 2008. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

HAVANA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Cuban authorities on Monday extended the cyclone alert to the western provinces of Pinar del Rio and Juventud Island (Isle of Youth) which were devastated by Hurricane Gustav just a week ago.

The authorities called upon people in Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth to stop reconstruction work in the face of the approaching Hurricane Ike, which has killed over 61 people in Haiti.

Hurricane Ike assaulted Cuba on Monday with torrential rains and high gusts, demolishing houses, blowing down telegraph poles and wireless signal towers.

The affected eastern areas of the Caribbean country were partially without power and experienced disruptions to the phone service.

After crossing the island, Ike turned on to an offshore track parallel to Cuba's south coast, putting it on a path to plow past the Isle of Youth and cross the country a second time in western Pinar del Rio province.

Though Ike had weakened to category 1 on the five-level Saffir Simpson scale as it traveled overland through Cuba, weather forecasters said it could pick up strength as it moved back over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.