At the risk of being labeled an alarmist -- this is just in from the AP:
Fla. Urges New Evacuations As Ivan Nears
46 minutes ago
By ADRIAN SAINZ, Associated Press Writer
MIAMI - Tourists and residents were told Thursday they will have to leave the Florida Keys to avoid mighty Hurricane Ivan, even as the state still struggled with the misery left by Hurricanes Frances and Charley.
Forecasters said Ivan — which strengthened early Thursday to 160 mph — could reach the island chain as soon as Sunday, making it the third hurricane to hit Florida in a month. The last time three hurricanes hit Florida in a single season was 1964, when Cleo, Dora and Isabel hit the state.
Charley struck southwest Florida on Aug. 13 with wind of 145 mph, causing an estimated $6.8 billion in damage and 27 deaths. Frances hit the state's eastern coast early Sunday with 105 mph wind, leaving $2 billion to $4 billion in insured damage and at least 15 dead in the state.
Ivan has already killed at least 15 people as it tears through the Caribbean, the most powerful hurricane to hit there in a decade. Ninety percent of the homes in Grenada were damaged, looting erupted and a prison was destroyed, leaving criminals on the loose.
At 11 a.m., Ivan's center was 430 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, or about 960 miles southeast of Miami. It had 160 mph wind and was moving about 15 mph.
National Hurricane Center (news - web sites) forecasters predict that Ivan could hit the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane, with wind of 131 to 155 mph, late Sunday or early Monday.
Monroe County emergency officials asked tourists to leave the Keys at 9 a.m. Thursday, the third visitor evacuation there in a month, following Charley and Frances. Mobile home residents were urged to begin evacuating at 6 p.m. Thursday, and other residents were told to prepare to leave Friday.
A single highway links the islands with mainland Florida. The last time everyone on the Keys were told to evacuate was in 2001 for Hurricane Michelle, a 135 mph storm that wound up missing a direct hit on the chain. Officials estimated that only 15 percent of Keys residents left then.
"I don't think that people will think twice when we tell them it's a Four heading right at us. I think they will be pretty responsive," Monroe County emergency manager Irene Toner said.
Should Ivan strike Florida, it would be the first time since 1950 that two major hurricanes — ones with wind at least 111 mph — hit Florida so close together.
Jim Lushine, a National Weather Service (news - web sites) meteorologist in Miami, said Ivan could make history.
"We could have three of the most intense storms to ever hit Florida in one season that we know about, anyway," Lushine said.
Some businesses have already seen a steep drop in the number of tourists since Charley and Frances. Hog's Breath Saloon in downtown Key West has had its worst six weeks of business since 1988, general manager Charlie Bauer said.
Bauer said he normally rides out hurricanes in the Keys, but not this time: "I won't even hang around for a Category 3."
President Bush (news - web sites), who signed a $2 billion disaster relief package for victims of Frances and Charley, toured Florida's Atlantic coast by helicopter on Wednesday, handed out bags of ice and bottled water in Fort Pierce and visited the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The president, who was joined by his brother Gov. Jeb Bush, said he would seek additional funds to rebuild infrastructure and provide disaster loan assistance to businesses and homeowners.
"We're working as hard as we can to get them the supplies they need. That's what we're here for," President Bush said.
Many residents said it will take months to ease the anxieties of rebuilding their homes and their lives. State officials said 1.1 million homes and businesses were without power Thursday. Flood warnings continued in five counties near the Georgia line, half-ripe fruit littered citrus groves and the remains of roofs, sheds and fishing docks still lie scattered across the ground.
"Look at this," said Gloria Serrano, who toured her mother-in-law's damaged West Palm Beach mobile home. "There's no water, there's no electricity, there's sewage on the ground and there are trees on my mother-in-law's roof. I'm very worried."
After crossing the state, Frances moved into the Gulf of Mexico. It then hit northwestern Florida as a strong, wet tropical storm before moving into Georgia and northward into the eastern United States.
Remnants of Frances continued to create problems Thursday.
In Ohio, where up to 7 inches of rain fell, two deaths were attributed to the storm. In Asheville, N.C., tens of thousands of people remained without drinking water early Thursday after a major water line from a reservoir washed out.
The emergency money approved by the president for Florida would provide direct aid for families, debris removal, repairs and emergency food and shelter. Gov. Bush said the state and federal governments are sending a "massive amount of support," but added that "it's a logistical challenge that people have to keep in perspective. It isn't going to be done overnight."
Palm Beach County Commissioner Warren Newell said "we need more of everything" at the county's emergency distribution centers, where thousands of people have come for ice and water. He also said there was a problem with getting enough trucks in because of fuel shortages.
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On the Net:
National Hurricane Center:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
Florida Emergency Management:
http://www.floridadisaster.org
