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Jamaica may have escaped Hurricane Ivan?s fury, but the damage done was bad enough, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said yesterday.

Hurricane Ivan, one of the most powerful storms to batter the Caribbean, has killed at least 16 people in Jamaica, but the island has escaped the devastation it visited on Grenada.

The Government yesterday armed itself with emergency powers to ensure the maintenance of public order as Jamaica braced itself to take a pummelling from Hurricane Ivan, which played a cheeky cat-and-and-mouse game with the island.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) - Deadly Hurricane Ivan ripped Jamaica with powerful winds, torrential rains and huge waves on Saturday, tearing away houses and washing out roads before heading toward the tiny Cayman Islands and Cuba.

Grenada's limited state of emergency kicked in yesterday, with T&T Defence Force troops at the forefront of efforts to curb continued looting and keep the peace on the hurricane-battered island.

BRIDGETOWN-Armed bandits, some in camouflage army clothing, have been robbing vessels in Grenadian waters. The vessels, laden with food and other supplies, have been heading for the hurricane-ravaged Isle of Spice.

Grenada prime minister Keith Mitchell and his cabinet were meeting last night to decide on a limited state of emergency for the island in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan.

Jamaicans began feeling the earliest effects of Hurricane Ivan late last night as the most powerful hurricane to hit the Caribbean in more than 10 years neared the island.

The prime minister of Grenada has been rescued by the Royal Navy after his home was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan which has killed at least 15 in the southern Caribbean.

Barring an 11th hour shift in its direction, Hurricane Ivan, having already wreaked havoc in the southern Caribbean, was on course to hit Jamaica with a thumping blow by tomorrow and forecasters warned that its impact could be more ferocious than Gilbert 16 years ago.