This is starting to get scary.
MSNBC.com
Florida told to expect storm worse than Andrew
Evacuation orders top 1 million people on east coast
NBC News and news services
Updated: 12:30 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2004
MIAMI - Miami-Dade County became the latest region to order evacuations ahead of Hurricane Frances, telling 320,000 residents to clear out by Thursday afternoon.
With more than 1 million Floridians now urged to evacuate, forecasters warned the Category 4 storm could be worse than Hurricane Charley last month and even worse than Hurricane Andrew of 1992, the most expensive storm to ever hit the United States.
While Charley was as a Category 4 storm as well, Frances is twice as wide, Ed Rappaport of the National Hurricane Center told NBC's "Today" show Thursday. As a result, he said, expect "the same kind of devastation but perhaps over a larger area near landfall."
Andrew, for its part, was more intense at its core but also "a smaller storm ... so we expect a wider area of damage than we saw with Andrew," Rappaport said.
Packing 145 mph winds that extend out 80 miles and on a course that has emergency officials in several southeastern states jittery, Frances was expected to strengthen as it headed for landfall, possibly by late Friday or early Saturday.
States of emergency were declared in both Georgia and Florida, which has never before seen two Category 4 storms make landfall within a span of just three weeks. Thursday morning, Florida's Broward County issued evacuation orders for 250,000 residents, adding to the 500,000 alerted in nearby areas Wednesday.
“It’s now time to act,” said Florida Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate.
Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne told residents that if they refused to leave evacuation zones, police would be collecting names and phone numbers for their next of kin.
Frances carried a potential storm surge of up to 14 feet above normal tides, and was expected to pour 10 to 20 inches of rain on Florida.
“This one has it all,” state meteorologist Ben Nelson said.
Florida could feel winds soon
At 11 a.m. ET Thursday, Frances’ center was 450 miles east-southeast of West Palm Beach. It was moving west-northwest near 13 mph, and was expected to continue that course for the next 24 hours.
Forecasters said Frances could begin affecting Florida late Thursday, less than three weeks after Charley raked the state’s west coast with 145 mph wind, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing 27 people.
Forecasters said Frances could become a Category 5 storm with winds of 156 mph or higher by the time it makes landfall. The difference wasn’t something residents spent time discussing.
“Category 4, Category 5, what’s the difference? I’m still out of here,” said Michele Byrd, 38, a food service executive from Vero Beach. “This one will probably be bigger than Charley. I don’t see any way we’re not getting hit.”
On Thursday, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning covering 300 miles of eastern Florida, from Florida City north to Flagler Beach, including Lake Okeechobee. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours.
“People should not concentrate on the forecast track,” forecaster Jack Beven said Thursday morning, urging residents of the entire watch region to immediately begin preparing. “A slight dip in the track could result in big changes in landfall.”
Signs of preparation
Supermarkets along the state’s Atlantic coast were stripped of bottled water and canned goods. In the pre-dawn hours Thursday, long lines were forming outside home supply stores in Palm Beach County, with dozens of people hoping for a chance to buy plywood or generators. A delivery truck’s arrival was met with raucous applause.
Reservation clerks of sold-out hotels groaned with each telephone ring, knowing someone seeking a room was on the other end. And demand for gas was so great some stations were pumped dry.
Court trials were canceled in 10 Florida counties, cruise lines kept their ships away and schools in nine counties were shuttered for Thursday; another three planned to do the same Friday. In St. Lucie County, a curfew was to go in effect Friday night.
The menacing strength of Frances coupled with the damage wrought by Hurricane Charley in Florida had even normally stoic coastal Georgians spooked.
“The people here are paying this one a little more attention than they normally would,” said Tybee Island Mayor Walter Parker. “When I went to the Post Office today, some people said they’re a little more concerned. They saw what Charley did to Florida.”
Reports from Caribbean
In the Caribbean, the storm’s lashing winds tore tin roofs off houses and plucked trees from the ground as it plowed through the Turks and Caicos.
No injuries were reported but hundreds fled their homes and many telephone lines were still down. More than a dozen houses were damaged.
Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie urged Bahamians to remain calm, but cautioned islanders they could see “the most intense hurricane in recorded history.”
The U.S. Embassy in Nassau evacuated about 200 non-emergency personnel and their family members, said Stacie Zerdecki, an embassy spokeswoman. Hundreds of others also fled.
Club Med evacuated its Columbus Isle resort on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas because it was in the direct path of the storm, said Nadeige Martelly, a Club Med spokeswoman.
About 375 guests and 110 employees left on charter planes Wednesday and were taken to Club Med resorts in the Dominican Republic, Miami and Montreal, she said.
Traffic headaches
Back in Florida, the storm and evacuations it forces are certain to spoil Labor Day outings and make a mess of holiday travel across the Southeast. Florida may reverse lanes on some highways to handle the evacuation traffic, state Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate said.
Many businesses along the Atlantic coast began closing Wednesday, some not planning to reopen until Sunday at the earliest. Even Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center said it planned to shut down, leery of the havoc Frances could bring.
“It’s going to hit somewhere,” said Stephanie Graniero, who was having hurricane shutters attached to her store along a deserted commercial strip of Delray Beach. “You have to try to stay calm and not panic. If it’s going to hit, you have to be prepared.”
An evacuation order was issued for 300,000 Palm Beach County residents, and 200,000 who live in mobile homes and flood-prone areas of Volusia, Brevard, Martin and Indian River counties also were ordered to find safer locations. Forecasters said storm surges of 15 feet or more could affect those areas if Frances takes dead aim.
State officials worried about finding enough room in shelters. Many hotel rooms in southern Florida are occupied by emergency workers and people left homeless by Charley. Some schools and community centers are still being used as shelters.
To make matters worse, many rivers and lakes in the Carolinas and Virginia are already swollen with rains from a series of August storms. The most recent of those came Monday, when the remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston brought heavy rain and knocked down trees and power lines.
Joe Farmer, of South Carolina’s Emergency Management Division, said the state would likely have to deal with Frances even if it makes landfall in Florida since evacuees would head north on Interstate 95.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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