To: Jim Bishop who wrote (9370 ) 9/13/1999 7:14:00 AM From: Mr Metals Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 150070
It's been real guys...Take care:-( Hurricane Floyd Races to Bahamas, Florida By Angus MacSwan Reuters MIAMI (Sept 13) - An "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Floyd raced westward toward The Bahamas early on Monday packing winds nearing 155 mph. Forecasters warned it could slam into Florida at midweek unless it turns. "It is very powerful hurricane -- you don't get much more powerful," said Todd Kimberlein, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Floyd was designated a strong Category Four hurricane on the Saffir Simpson scale, which runs from one to five, meaning it can rip off roofs on small residences, damage doors and windows, tear down trees and signs, destroy mobile homes and cause severe flooding. Hurricane Andrew, which devastated swaths of south Florida in August 1992 and killed more than 40 people, was Category Four. Florida's Division of Emergency Management warned Florida residents to start getting ready for a visit by Floyd. Many people were already heeding the warning, stocking up with water and supplies in supermarkets and heading to hardware stores for plywood to shutter windows. Miami TV stations also ran advisories telling people how to protect their homes. At 5 a.m. EDT Monday, Floyd's center was about 245 miles east of San Salvador Island in The Bahamas at latitude 23.7 north, longitude 70.6 west, or about 615 miles from Miami. It was moving just west at about 14 mph. The government of The Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the northwest Bahamas, and a hurricane warning remains in effect for the central Bahamas. In Florida, authorities have issued a hurricane warning for the state's east coast from south of Flagler Beach to Hallandale. A hurricane watch means a storm poses a threat within 36 hours. A warning means the hurricane is expected within 24 hours. "I think the northern Bahamas are under the gun. It is a little less certain for the central Bahamas. It (Floyd) should be moving through the northern Bahamas on Tuesday," an NHC spokesman, James Franklin said. The Bahamas is a collection of some 700 low-lying coral islands stretching for about 600 miles from just off the coast of Florida to north of Haiti. The NHS said it looked as if Floyd would reach Florida on Wednesday. Forecasters said it was on course to hit land in central Florida though it was possible it would turn to the north, either skirting the coast or lashing Georgia and the Carolinas. "South Florida is not out of the woods yet," Kimberlien added. The Atlantic season's sixth tropical storm, Floyd formed on Wednesday and reached hurricane strength early on Friday as maximum sustained winds hit 80 mph but it blew north of the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. Forecasters had predicted this could be a brutal hurricane season. The Atlantic season runs from June 1 to November 30 and covers the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. Last year Hurricane Mitch killed up to 11,000 people as it tore through Honduras and Nicaragua in October. Hurricane Georges killed more than 500 people on its march through Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti in September last year. Meanwhile, another tempest, Tropical Storm Gert, was roiling in the central Atlantic. Gert, the seventh named storm of the season, was located about 1,415 miles east of The Lesser Antilles and moving westward early on Monday. Reut05:37 09-13-99 MMWHOISHEADINGTOBOLIVIA:-)