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The Mad Monk
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of Ice Cream
Mar 2000
time: 23:35
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quote:
8:28pm (UK)
Hurricane Frances Churns Toward the Bahamas
"PA"
Hundreds of islanders fled to higher ground in the Turks and Caicos tonight as Hurricane Frances whipped up surf in the Caribbean and roared toward the Bahamas.
Frances is already a Category 4 hurricane – one of the most deadly – and forecasters said its 140mph winds were being bolstered by stronger gusts.
The Turks and Caicos government urged islanders to evacuate and move to shelters but most of the British territory’s 20,000 people ignored the call.
“Unfortunately a lot of communities are not taking this seriously,” said Fire Chief Chris Gannon. “If we get through this without any loss of life, it will be a miracle.”
Structural damage was already being reported on the territory’s low-lying islands, where many houses are either wooden or have tin roofs, Gannon said.
“I’ve never been in a hurricane before, so it should be exciting,” said Julie Dilling, 45, who was staying at at a shelter with the rest of her diving group from Fort Worth, Texas. “I suppose it just adds to the story. Last year, nothing exciting happened.”
About 400 people were evacuated from Salt Cay, just south of Grand Turk. Another 400 hotel guests staying at the Beaches Hotel on the Turks and Caicos’ Providenciales Island left for nearby Jamaica while the same number decided to ride out the storm at the hotel.
As the storm headed to the Bahamas, a chain of some 700 islands, the US State Department issued a travel warning, urging people to consider the potential risk of travel to the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos.
About 200 non-emergency personnel and their family members working at the US Embassy in Nassau and other US government agencies in the Bahamas were being evacuated to the US mainland, said Stacie Zerdecki, an embassy spokeswoman.
Residents in the storm’s path were putting up plywood on their windows. Others were hurrying to buy emergency supplies, stocking up on bottled water and canned food.
The Bahamian government was urging people in the south-eastern cays to move to larger islands, said Carl Smith, the national disaster coordinator. One of the most vulnerable islands is Great Inagua, a Bahamian island with a population of about 600.
The Bahamian trade minister, Leslie Miller, threatened to revoke the licences of any businesses that profiteer. He said his agency had already been inundated with calls from people complaining of higher prices for plywood, light bulbs, batteries and water.
“We will shut you down,” Miller warned at a news conference. “It is against the law to jack up prices in times of a national crises.
A tropical storm warning was posted for the north coast of the Dominican Republic, where more than 50 families were evacuated along the northern coast as a precautionary measure. No floods, however, were reported yet.
At 2pm (1800 GMT), the hurricane was about 60 miles east of Grand Turk Island and moving west-northwest at about 15mph.
Frances is the third major hurricane of the Atlantic season, following Alex and Charley. |
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3441375
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Lancer
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Oregon Coast, USA! or Bohol, Philippines!
Apr 1999
time: 05:35
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We have friends in Gainsville. From the storm track in MM's 1st post it appears they'll be hit. Hope not...
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The Mad Monk
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of Ice Cream
Mar 2000
time: 23:35
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Amen.
quote:
Hurricane Frances Batters Turks & Caicos, SE Bahamas
MIAMI, FL, Thurs. Sept. 2: Cruiseships diverted and most flights in and out of the Turks and Caicos were canceled as the category four storm, Hurricane Frances battered the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas last night with heavy wind and rain.
At 11 p.m. last night, the center of Frances was located about 60 miles east-northeast of the southeastern Bahamas and about 585 miles east-southeast of Palm Beach, Florida.
Hurricane force winds were up to 80 miles to 185 miles last night with Grand Turk reporting a sustained wind of 72 mph as the eye of Frances passed to the northwest damaging trees and roofs on the island and bring heavy rain of 5-10 inches.
Power was knocked out on Grand Turk Island with power lines and trees down, Reuters quoted Turks and Caicos Fire Chief Chris Gannon, as saying. Emergency workers also reportedly rescued one woman from her home after the roof blew off in the lashing winds. Most of the 20,000 people in the Turks and Caicos, however, were still ignoring evacuation calls in the British territory.
Meanwhile, Frances was moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph last night and this general motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours, possibly nearing Central Bahamas this afternoon or evening.
The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning urging U.S. citizens to consider the potential risk of travel to the region and Florida’s Governor Jed Bush again declared a state of emergency as forecasters predicted south Florida could be impacted heavily. – Hardbeatnews.com
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http://www.hardbeatnews.com/details1931.htm
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mrmitchell
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Good luck, Che. When a hurricane has a possible path that includes rain in Arkansas, it can't be pretty.
If only they were just the clouds and none of the rain or winds! The satellite pictures are honestly pretty if it wasn't for the devestation they bring along.
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The Mad Monk
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of Ice Cream
Mar 2000
time: 23:35
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quote:
Monster Storm Roars Toward Florida
Email this story
Sep 2, 7:11 PM (ET)
By Jane Sutton
MIAMI (Reuters) - Some 2.5 million people were urged to leave their homes and Florida residents jammed the roads on Thursday as powerful hurricane Frances roared toward the crowded southeast U.S. coast with enough force to cause major harm.
Frances lashed the southeastern Bahamas with 140 mph winds on Thursday and was expected to slam into the capital Nassau on Friday. It threatens to deliver a huge blow to Florida by Saturday morning, just three weeks after Hurricane Charley hit the state's west coast.
A total of 2.5 million people were being told to evacuate barrier islands, low-lying coastal areas and mobile homes in the path of the storm, Craig Fugate, director of the state's Division of Emergency Management, told reporters.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 14.6 million Floridians live in the storm warning area.
Highway tolls were suspended and on the Beeline Expressway in central Florida, lanes were reversed to speed the long lines of traffic fleeing the coast. Traffic clogged major arteries in parts of the state.
"We really don't see anything to significantly weaken this hurricane," said U.S. Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield. "This is going to impact a lot of people."
Almost the entire east coast of Florida was under a hurricane warning, reviving memories of Hurricane Andrew, the most costly U.S. storm in history, which ravaged the Miami area in 1992.
Frances was a powerful Category 4 storm on the five-step scale of hurricane intensity, the same as Charley, which slammed into southwest Florida on Aug. 13. But Frances was twice as wide and capable of savaging a much broader area.
"You cannot hope this off, you cannot walk away. It is not time to hope, it is time to act," Fugate said.
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.
Schools, courts and offices closed along the Florida east coast. Residents rushed to secure their homes, snatching plywood, flashlights and bottled water off store shelves. Gas pumps ran dry and automatic teller machines ran out of cash.
CLOGGED ROADS
State officials said 8 hospitals and 19 nursing homes were being evacuated.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Charlie Bronson estimated that 5.7 million acres and 19,000 farms were in harm's way. Growers braced for yet another blow to the state's $9.1 billion citrus industry, which lost 20 percent of its crop when Charley felled trees and stripped them of fruit.
Florida's most populous areas were at risk, including Tampa and tourist center Orlando, home of Disney World . On the coast east of Orlando, the three space shuttles and other equipment were secured at the Kennedy Space Center.
Gov. Jeb Bush declared the state a disaster area on Wednesday to speed aid after the storm hits.
"I have no doubt that there will be tragedy associated with a storm like this, but I also have no doubt there will be miracles," said Dr. John Agwunobi, Florida's health secretary.
The two major arteries leading out of South Florida, Interstate 95 and the Florida Turnpike, were both clogged by midday on Thursday, with traffic shuffling along at 15 mph, or stopped altogether at times.
"There are more people on the road than we anticipated. People have started to evacuate without being told," said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kim Miller.
The hurricane skirted the tiny British colony of Turks and Caicos on Wednesday, toppling trees, knocking out power and phone lines and ripping off a few roofs but causing little structural damage.
It moved up over the Bahamas chain of 700 islands that are home to 300,000 people and was expected to hit the capital, Nassau, full blast on Friday.
Prime Minister Perry Christie told Bahamians they faced one of the most intense hurricanes in their history. "We have made every human effort to prepare ... we are ultimately in the hands of God," Christie said.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the eye of the hurricane was near San Salvador Island in central Bahamas, and 375 miles east-southeast of the south Florida coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Frances was moving slowly northwest at 10 mph (16 kph) on a course that the hurricane center predicted could bring the eye near the central Florida coast on Saturday morning. But the storm was so huge that hurricane conditions were expected six to eight hours before then and over a wide swath of the coast.
Charley caused about $7.4 billion in insured losses, the second-highest hurricane damage toll in U.S. history behind Hurricane Andrew's $25 billion tab in 1992. (Additional reporting by John Marquis in Nassau, Jim Loney and Frances Kerry in Miami, Michael Peltier in Tallahassee and Broward Liston in Daytona Beach)
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http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/424763|top|09-02-2004::19:26|reuters.html
It's a thousand miles across, now!
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The Mad Monk
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of Ice Cream
Mar 2000
time: 23:35
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Hasen't been too bad so far -- let's hope that trend continues.
quote:
Hurricane Frances Hits Bahamas; Man Dies
Hurricane Frances Rips Into Bahamas, Leaves Destruction in Its Wake; Man Electrocuted in Storm
The Associated Press
NASSAU, Bahamas Sept. 3, 2004 — Hurricane Frances battered the main tourist hub in the Bahamas on Friday, unleashing powerful winds that ripped apart roofs and shattered windows in highrises. The storm's violence drove thousands to flee and left one man electrocuted.
Though still powerful, the storm weakened to a Category 2 with sustained winds easing to 105 mph. Frances churned slowly toward Florida, but forecasters warned it could strengthen.
Streets were almost deserted in Nassau, the capital on New Providence Island, which is home to more than two-thirds of the island nation's 300,000 people. Many boarded up their homes and hunkered down inside to ride out the expansive storm that was headed toward Florida.
Fallen trees, debris and downed satellite dishes littered roads and power was knocked out in many parts of the city. At least three boats were destroyed. There were scattered reports of looting, police said, including one man who broke into a Texaco gas station and another who was arrested for stealing appliances.
The hurricane was expected to reach Freeport, the second but smaller commercial center, by late Friday or early Saturday. Street signs were already blowing off poles and palms were bending in the strong gusts. Officials urged all residents to stay inside.
Kenrad Delaney, 18, was electrocuted in Nassau on Friday morning while filling a generator with diesel, police said. The family heard a scream and found him lying on the floor. He died after being taken to the hospital, police said.
The U.S. Embassy in Nassau evacuated about 200 non-emergency employees and their families as Frances neared.
Potent wind gusts whipped through the city streets and downpours already were pelting the second commercial center of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island, where emergency administrator Alexander E. Williams said about 600 people had checked in to shelters.
Unlike Nassau, Freeport has fewer skyscrapers and its buildings are better built. Officials, however, warned of potential damage to wooden homes and coastal areas.
Police drove through low-lying neighborhoods urging people to evacuate.
Gordon King said he planned to stay in his boarded-up home in Freeport, even though it was only about 5 feet above sea level.
"I hope it's strong. It's been through a couple of hurricanes," said the 36-year-old cook. "If things get bad, I'll probably go inland."
About 20 evacuees half of them children dozed on pews in the Central Zion Baptist Church outside Freeport.
"I'm trying to save myself. I'm scared," said Elianise Jean, a 40-year-old Haitian immigrant who came with her six children. She brought blankets but no food.
Meanwhile, tourists at the 2,300-room Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, outside of Nassau, were told to leave their rooms and stay in a conference room. No structural damage had been reported, but the hotel's landscape suffered significant damage.
"I came for a week of sunshine and beaches in the Bahamas and can't believe this is happening," said Jo Pain, 37, of London. "It's frightening. The rain is pelting down, the winds are incredible and it's so loud out there."
Telephones lines on the southern islands of Abaco, Mayaguana and Acklins were lost.
The hurricane hit the sparsely populated southeastern Bahamas on Thursday.
Earlier, 15-foot waves and winds of 120 mph were reported on San Salvador Island, which is home to more than 900 people, but no major damage or deaths were reported. Electricity and phone services were down on Long Island, which has about 3,000 residents.
Emergency officials said the roof of a high school on Long Island had been ripped off and residents were reporting severe damage to crops.
Cruise ships were diverted out of Frances' path and many beachfront hotels were evacuated across the chain of more than 700 islands.
Nassau's Doctors Hospital treated about 40 people who suffered minor injuries during preparations for Frances in recent days, said Charles Sealy, vice president of operations. As the hurricane passed, patients and staff member were playing board games and singing on a karaoke machine, Sealy said. More than 40 doctors would be on call during the storm.
Frances brushed past Crooked Island and Acklins Island home to about 1,100 people late Thursday, knocking out power and phones but doing only minimal damage, said Alfred Gray, the agriculture and fisheries minister.
Officials said Frances also left only minor damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday, damaging more than a dozen houses. One woman was rescued when her roof blew off, but the hurricane's eye missed the heart of the British territory.
At 8 p.m. Friday, the hurricane's eye was about 90 miles east-southeast of Freeport and 200 miles east-southeast of Florida, moving west-northwest at 8 mph.
A hurricane warning was up for most of Florida's east coast, stretching more than 300 miles. About 2.5 million residents were told to clear out the biggest evacuation request in the state's history.
Forecasters said the brunt of the hurricane could begin to hit Florida early Saturday, less than three weeks after Hurricane Charley raked Florida's western coast with 145 mph winds, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing 27 people.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard was searching for a Fort Lauderdale-bound pleasure boat that made a distress call about 12 miles west of Bimini in the Bahamas.
Three people were reported to be aboard the boat stuck in 9-foot swells.
Associated Press writers Dominic Duncombe and Adam Jankiewicz in Nassau contributed to this report.
On the Net:
National Hurricane Center,
Crown Weather Services
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http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040903_1943.html
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01-09-2004 23:05
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