Hope you can see the VIDEO on this page. The Navy model has it coming in through South Florida. Noaa's going through middle Florida.. whatever, it's a HUGE storm and will affect the entire state.. I've got to drive to a meeting tonight, and I hear the traffic here is already near gridlock..just got back from grocery store.. it's packed. Neighbors are putting up their shutters. I am doing my best to stay calm.
Dee xxxooo
Florida readies for Category 4 Hurricane Frances
By TIM REYNOLDS
The Associated Press
Posted September 1 2004, 5:49 PM EDT
By TIM REYNOLDS
The Associated Press
Posted September 1 2004, 5:49 PM EDT
WEST PALM BEACH -- Nearly half a million Floridians were urged Wednesday to evacuate as Hurricane Frances and its 140-mph winds could deliver the worst double hurricane strike on one state in at least a century.
Residents still storm-weary after Hurricane Charley struck less than three weeks ago filled up their gas tanks, boarded up their houses and bought emergency supplies ahead of Frances' possible landfall somewhere on the state's Atlantic coast late Friday or early Saturday.
``I can't emphasize enough how powerful this is. If there's something out there that's going to weaken it, we haven't seen it,'' National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield said.
Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency, which orders the activation of the Florida National Guard and other preparations. He also warned more evacuations may be ordered.
Charley left an estimated $7.4 billion in insured damage and 27 people dead when it swept across the peninsula Aug. 13 from the Gulf of Mexico. Frances neared the Bahamas on Wednesday and was projected to hit the Atlantic side of the state or as far north as South Carolina during the Labor Day holiday weekend.
A ridge of high-pressure in the atmosphere off the U.S. East Coast will determine Frances' path, Mayfield said. If it stays strong, it will push Frances south toward Florida. If it weakens, it will steer the hurricane north to Georgia or South Carolina.
Craig Sargent was boarding up a relative's house about two blocks from the Intracoastal Waterway in West Palm Beach with storm shutters and plywood. ``If this gives us a direct hit, none of this is going to help at all,'' the contractor said.
Apart from 140-mph top sustained winds with higher gusts, Frances could push tremendous ocean waves ashore in low-lying areas. Because of that, about 300,000 residents in coastal areas of Palm Beach County were urged to evacuate starting at 2 p.m. Thursday.
In Rockledge, about 45 miles southeast of Orlando, Brevard County plans to urge about 185,000 residents to start evacuating mobile homes and barrier islands Thursday afternoon. Another 13,500 people in parts of nearby Martin and Indian River counties were told to leave starting at noon Thursday. More evacuation orders along Florida's east coast were likely.
Craig Fugate, director of the state Division of Emergency Management, said steps were being taken to prepare for large-scale evacuations, including possibly reversing lanes of some highways to accommodate fleeing coastal residents. He said residents told to evacuate shouldn't try to drive hundreds of miles but should find a place just outside of the expected storm surge area.
Frances stayed with steady strength Wednesday, but it was expected to fluctuate in intensity and could get stronger, forecasters said. At 5 p.m., it was centered about 35 miles north of Grand Turk Island Bahamas, and 655 miles east-southeast of Palm Beach. It was moving west-northwest at around 15 mph, and could slow down, meaning its winds and rain could linger over wherever it hits.
Hurricane-force winds extended up to about 80 miles from Frances' center, making it about twice the width of Charley and increasing the possibility for damage, forecasters said.
State officials worried about finding hotel rooms and shelters for evacuees. Many hotel rooms in southern Florida are occupied by people left homeless by Charley and out-of-state emergency workers. Some schools and community centers are still being used as shelters.
But Bush said experience gained from picking up the pieces from Charley will help state and federal emergency officials deal with Frances at the same time.
``We are prepared and we will respond and we will recover,'' Bush said. He moved his office to the state emergency operations center, which was activated for yet another disaster response.
Records from the last century show no two Category 4 storms with winds of 131-155 mph hitting a state within weeks of each other, hurricane center meteorologist Rick Knabb said. Charley came ashore with top sustained winds of 145 mph.
The last time two major hurricanes hit Florida in rapid succession was 1950. Hurricane Easy hit Tampa around Sept. 4 of that year and Hurricane King hit Miami six weeks later on Oct. 17.
Nancy Cuffaro, whose Port Charlotte home and pizza restaurant were damaged by Charley, said she was hoping Frances would spare the area.
``I know we can't withstand too much. I really don't know what to think here. I'm lost. It's starting to get to me,'' said Cuffaro, whose restaurant still didn't have electricity Wednesday.
The Kennedy Space Center planned to close Thursday and Friday to allow workers time to board up their homes and evacuate if necessary, NASA spokesman George Diller said. Helicopters and planes left Patrick Air Force Base.
With the memories of destruction so fresh, many people didn't need an official heads-up to begin preparing. A Home Depot to the south in Florida City, ground zero during Hurricane Andrew 12 years ago, more than doubled its daily sales, ran out of generators and plywood and pushed $50,000 worth of lumber out the doors Tuesday, said Lisa Stiffler, assistant store manager. North Miami Beach resident Lorraine Lewis bought a small cooking stove in case of emergency but wasn't planning to stick around long enough to use it. ``I have water and plastic and a plane ticket,'' she said. She said she bought the ticket to New York on Wednesday, planned to cover her furniture with plastic and get out. ``It will be too hot staying here without light for days.'' Travelers should call their airlines before heading to the airport to see if flights are canceled in the coming days, said Jim Reynolds, spokesman at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Those without tickets should get them before lining up at counters, he said. Excess water was being released from the state's drainage canals, many of which were at high levels after Charley dumped heavy rains, water managers said. Charley destroyed or heavily damaged more than 30,000 homes. It was the worst natural disaster to hit Florida since Andrew caused $15.5 billion in insured damage and killed 15 people.
Residents still storm-weary after Hurricane Charley struck less than three weeks ago filled up their gas tanks, boarded up their houses and bought emergency supplies ahead of Frances' possible landfall somewhere on the state's Atlantic coast late Friday or early Saturday.
``I can't emphasize enough how powerful this is. If there's something out there that's going to weaken it, we haven't seen it,'' National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield said.
Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency, which orders the activation of the Florida National Guard and other preparations. He also warned more evacuations may be ordered.
Charley left an estimated $7.4 billion in insured damage and 27 people dead when it swept across the peninsula Aug. 13 from the Gulf of Mexico. Frances neared the Bahamas on Wednesday and was projected to hit the Atlantic side of the state or as far north as South Carolina during the Labor Day holiday weekend.
A ridge of high-pressure in the atmosphere off the U.S. East Coast will determine Frances' path, Mayfield said. If it stays strong, it will push Frances south toward Florida. If it weakens, it will steer the hurricane north to Georgia or South Carolina.
Craig Sargent was boarding up a relative's house about two blocks from the Intracoastal Waterway in West Palm Beach with storm shutters and plywood. ``If this gives us a direct hit, none of this is going to help at all,'' the contractor said.
Apart from 140-mph top sustained winds with higher gusts, Frances could push tremendous ocean waves ashore in low-lying areas. Because of that, about 300,000 residents in coastal areas of Palm Beach County were urged to evacuate starting at 2 p.m. Thursday.
In Rockledge, about 45 miles southeast of Orlando, Brevard County plans to urge about 185,000 residents to start evacuating mobile homes and barrier islands Thursday afternoon. Another 13,500 people in parts of nearby Martin and Indian River counties were told to leave starting at noon Thursday. More evacuation orders along Florida's east coast were likely.
Craig Fugate, director of the state Division of Emergency Management, said steps were being taken to prepare for large-scale evacuations, including possibly reversing lanes of some highways to accommodate fleeing coastal residents. He said residents told to evacuate shouldn't try to drive hundreds of miles but should find a place just outside of the expected storm surge area.
Frances stayed with steady strength Wednesday, but it was expected to fluctuate in intensity and could get stronger, forecasters said. At 5 p.m., it was centered about 35 miles north of Grand Turk Island Bahamas, and 655 miles east-southeast of Palm Beach. It was moving west-northwest at around 15 mph, and could slow down, meaning its winds and rain could linger over wherever it hits.
Hurricane-force winds extended up to about 80 miles from Frances' center, making it about twice the width of Charley and increasing the possibility for damage, forecasters said.
State officials worried about finding hotel rooms and shelters for evacuees. Many hotel rooms in southern Florida are occupied by people left homeless by Charley and out-of-state emergency workers. Some schools and community centers are still being used as shelters.
But Bush said experience gained from picking up the pieces from Charley will help state and federal emergency officials deal with Frances at the same time.
``We are prepared and we will respond and we will recover,'' Bush said. He moved his office to the state emergency operations center, which was activated for yet another disaster response.
Records from the last century show no two Category 4 storms with winds of 131-155 mph hitting a state within weeks of each other, hurricane center meteorologist Rick Knabb said. Charley came ashore with top sustained winds of 145 mph.
The last time two major hurricanes hit Florida in rapid succession was 1950. Hurricane Easy hit Tampa around Sept. 4 of that year and Hurricane King hit Miami six weeks later on Oct. 17.
Nancy Cuffaro, whose Port Charlotte home and pizza restaurant were damaged by Charley, said she was hoping Frances would spare the area.
``I know we can't withstand too much. I really don't know what to think here. I'm lost. It's starting to get to me,'' said Cuffaro, whose restaurant still didn't have electricity Wednesday.
The Kennedy Space Center planned to close Thursday and Friday to allow workers time to board up their homes and evacuate if necessary, NASA spokesman George Diller said. Helicopters and planes left Patrick Air Force Base.
With the memories of destruction so fresh, many people didn't need an official heads-up to begin preparing. A Home Depot to the south in Florida City, ground zero during Hurricane Andrew 12 years ago, more than doubled its daily sales, ran out of generators and plywood and pushed $50,000 worth of lumber out the doors Tuesday, said Lisa Stiffler, assistant store manager. North Miami Beach resident Lorraine Lewis bought a small cooking stove in case of emergency but wasn't planning to stick around long enough to use it. ``I have water and plastic and a plane ticket,'' she said. She said she bought the ticket to New York on Wednesday, planned to cover her furniture with plastic and get out. ``It will be too hot staying here without light for days.'' Travelers should call their airlines before heading to the airport to see if flights are canceled in the coming days, said Jim Reynolds, spokesman at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Those without tickets should get them before lining up at counters, he said. Excess water was being released from the state's drainage canals, many of which were at high levels after Charley dumped heavy rains, water managers said. Charley destroyed or heavily damaged more than 30,000 homes. It was the worst natural disaster to hit Florida since Andrew caused $15.5 billion in insured damage and killed 15 people.
New Links, Urgent info.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hurricane Charley Help needed - PLEASE HELP US! http://www.heavenlyhands.net/hurricane.html
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment