Killer hurricane heads for US
2005-07-09 16:46
Miami - Over half a million residents of the eastern US Gulf Coast were told to evacuate their homes on Saturday, but Florida's Key West heaved a sigh of relief at being spared the worst of deadly Hurricane Dennis.
After pounding Cuba, where it killed at least 10 people, the storm moved into the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, with its centre staying well off Key West, a city at the southern tip of a chain of islands linked to mainland Florida by a series of bridges.
But heavy rains and fierce winds on the edge of the hurricane battered the popular tourist destination as well as other parts of southern Florida.
Concern, however, focused on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and particularly Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle, where the hurricane was expected to make landfall on Sunday.
Both states were still recovering from the 2004 hurricane damage, particularly Florida, which was hit by four such storms in quick succession last year.
"This is serious. This is a very dangerous storm," said Florida Governor Jeb Bush, a brother of the US president.
Severe storms
"If you are in a mandatory evacuation area, please do so," the governor said at a news conference on Saturday.
Over half a million people in the Florida Panhandle and in neighbouring Alabama were affected by the evacuation orders.
Oil rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico had already been evacuated in anticipation of the hurricane, which regained strength on Saturday after weakening as it crossed central Cuba.
Residents of Key West and the rest of the Florida Keys who did not evacuate ahead of the storm were told to remain indoors, as dangerous weather conditions were expected to continue throughout the day.
Severe storms lashed an area of south Florida reaching from Key West to north of Miami, uprooting trees, downing power lines and leaving about 200 000 people without power.
Authorities warned the storm could also spawn tornadoes and cause serious floods.
Dennis lost strength as it crossed Cuba, but it started regaining steam early on Saturday, with sustained winds measuring 160 kilometres per hour.
Forecasters expected the storm to strengthen further as it moves over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
At 13:00 GMT on Saturday, the centre of Dennis was 175 kilometres west of Key West, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre said.
- SAPA