Charley intensified to hurricane strength on Wednesday and spread heavy rain across Jamaica as it charged through the Caribbean on a path that put the Cayman Islands, Cuba and the Florida Keys in harm's way. Hurricane Charley and a growing Tropical Storm Bonnie, which was hampering Gulf oil and gas operations and was poised to strike the Florida Panhandle within a day, had millions of people on alert from the Caribbean to the U.S. Gulf coast. Jamaican businesses were shuttered by midday, universities suspended exams and hospitals sent patients home as people rushed to shops and gas stations to stock up on emergency supplies as Charley approached. Air Jamaica, British Airways, American Airlines and BWIA all canceled flights and a cruise ship was diverted from a stop in Montego Bay. Scores of emergency shelters opened across the island of 2.7 million people. Emergency management officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or deaths. But a caller to a radio station said there were mudslides along the eastern coast and the Yallahs River in the eastern parish of St. Thomas. "The parishes that are worst off are those in the east," government weather service forecaster Peter Fearon said. --MORE 2345 Local Time 2045 GMT
