Mandatory Evacuation In Effect - Florida Keys
MIAMI, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Tourists fled and retailersboarded up their stores in the vulnerable Florida Keys on Monday as Tropical Storm Rita strengthened near the Bahamas, looking poised to power its way into the Gulf of Mexico.
Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, killing hundreds, Rita was expected to become a hurricane by late Monday and then move between southern Florida and Cuba before making its way toward battered Louisiana or the Texas coast.
Rita was likely to become a major hurricane with winds of at least 111 mph (178 kph) as it drew strength from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, said Max Mayfield, director the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
"It's moving over very high-octane fuel here," Mayfield told CNN.
Rita's center was about 430 miles (680 km) east-southeast of Key West, Florida, at 11 a.m. (1500 GMT). It was moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph) and had top winds of 65 mph (100 kph).
Rita was expected to strengthen into a hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) by Monday night and move over the lower Florida Keys on Tuesday, then strengthen further as it moved into the Gulf of Mexico by Wednesday.
Mayfield cautioned the storm still could veer north to the Miami metropolitan area, home to 2.3 million people. Miami-Dade County officials urged residents to evacuate barrier islands and flood-prone areas.
"The main impact we think will be on the Florida Keys but this is just cutting it too close," Mayfield said.
Authorities in the Florida Keys, a 110-mile (177-km) chain of islands connected to mainland Florida by a single road, ordered everyone to leave the lower half of the island chain, including Key West.
SOME STAYING PUT
"The stores are all boarded up but it's open, everybody's very mellow. The tourists are all gone," said Christelle Orr of the Rooftop Cafe in Key West.
But many residents were reluctant to leave the laid-back island for what was expected to be a weak hurricane as it passed them.
"I don't want to say they're not taking it seriously but they know it's going to be a '1', and 'Category 1' down here is like, whatever," Orr said. "We may be crazy (not to evacuate) but I mean it's not like Louisiana, you know, we're not under water," she said as workers boarded up the cafe.
A hurricane warning was issued for south Florida from just north of Miami on the Atlantic Coast, through the Florida Keys and up to Cape Sable on the state's Gulf coast, alerting residents to expect hurricane conditions within 24 hours.
Hurricane warnings were also in effect for the northwest islands of the Bahamas and northwestern Cuba.
The Bahamian national airline, Bahamasair, canceled flights. The Bahamian government urged people to stay off the roads as much as possible because of the risk of flying debris.
The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, produces an average of about 11 tropical storms or hurricanes. But forecasters had predicted an above-average season with as many as 21 storms due to high sea-surface temperatures and other conditions favorable to hurricane formation. Rita was No. 17.
Hurricane Katrina has been blamed for at least 883 deaths in six states.
Hurricane Philippe, meanwhile, upgraded from a tropical storm overnight, was was about 365 miles (585 km) east of the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean but did not threaten land.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19296920.htm
I seriously cant beleive some of these people are staying put after what happened recently in NO :eek:
Regards,
Lee
