road, hoping to find something useful to rebuild their homes. Some people searched buildings for lost family, shouting their names. Others went into stores and tried to ke as much food and as many things as they could steal. People slowly began to count the dead. In the apartment building at the top of the hill, Rick and Elaine were standing in the babies room. They were tired hungry, and dirty but they were alive. The room they were standing in was empty. The wind had blown everything out of it. There was glass all over the floor, and the walls and carpet were wet and dirty. The babies beds, their cupboards, the little chairs and the prettily painted table, the flowered curtains, and the colorful pictures were all gone. The living room was full of broken furniture, and in the kitchen every plate and cup had been broken. Rick and Elaine stood hand-in-hand looking at what was left of their beautiful home. The babies lay sleeping in a towel in the bathroom Elaine looked at Rick and kissed him hard on the nose. Honey, I love you so much He picked her up in his arms. Together they danced round the room. It was good to be alive. That evening, all the American newspapers had a front page story about the hurricane: CUBA HIT BY WORST STORM IN 50 YEARS Hurricane Irene, one of the largest storms ever to hit the Caribbean, cut through Cuba early this morning. About 200,000 people have left their homes. Tourists