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Jeanne tears across Bahamas toward Florida
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-26 09:13
Hurricane Jeanne got stronger, bigger and faster as it battered the Bahamas
and bore down on Florida Saturday, forcing hundreds of thousands more residents
to hurriedly shutter their homes ahead of its anticipated devastating punch.
About 2 million people, from near the state's southern tip to the Georgia
border, were urged to evacuate as Jeanne strengthened to 115 mph from 105 mph
earlier in the day. It was expected to come ashore late Saturday or early Sunday
somewhere on the state's central Atlantic coast and take a last-minute turn to
the north that could devastate east and central Florida.
Waves caused by Hurricane Jeanne crash behind the lighthouse
at the Nassau harbour entrance as Jeanne passed through the island of New
Providence, Bahamas on Saturday Sept. 25, 2004. Jeanne's eye made a direct
hit on the northwestern island of Abaco Saturday morning and its sustained
winds strengthened to 115 mph (185 kph), making it the sixth major
hurricane of the season. Forecasters said further strengthening was
possible as Jeanne headed toward southeast Florida.
[AP] |
"Yesterday I was hoping we wouldn't lose power again," said Lynn Tarrington
of Lake Worth, who was leaving her home near the water early Saturday. "Now I'm
hoping I have a house left when I come back."
As it made its way toward Florida, Jeanne tore across the Bahamas, leaving
some neighborhoods submerged under 5 feet of water. No deaths or serious
injuries were reported there, but the storm was earlier blamed for more than
1,500 deaths in floods in Haiti.
The Category 3 storm's outer bands started lashing Florida Saturday morning
with steadily increasing rain and wind. Waves of 24 feet were reported ahead of
Jeanne and were moving toward the coast.
It will be the state's fourth hurricane in six weeks — a scenario unmatched
in more than a century.
Jeanne was expected to hit near where Hurricane Frances came ashore three
weeks ago, leaving behind piles of debris that officials feared would turn into
deadly, home-destroying missiles in Jeanne's wind.
"I really can't believe it's happening all over again — and right in the same
place," said Charity Brown, who moved to West Palm Beach from Chicago three
months ago with her children, ages 5 and 3. They hid in a closet as Frances tore
the roof off their apartment. That hole is now covered by a tarp, so the family
took shelter Saturday at an elementary school that was filling with evacuees.
"I'm going to get out of (Florida). It's scary. It's crazy."
Not since Texas in 1886 has one state has been struck by four hurricanes in a
season. Jeanne follows Charley, which struck Aug. 13 and devastated southwest
Florida; Frances, which struck Labor Day weekend; and Ivan, which blasted the
western Panhandle when it made landfall in nearby Alabama on Sept. 16. The
storms caused billions of dollars in combined damage and killed at least 70
people in Florida alone.
Gov. Jeb Bush warned Floridians not to let storm fatigue get the best of
them, "even though we're weary and even though this is a painful process."
"They must treat this hurricane as if it's the only hurricane they've ever
been through," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane
Center in Miami. "This has the potential to cause loss of life."
Officials ran out of time to remove piles of debris left over from Frances —
some taller than adults — that still sit in neighborhoods. Some people took to
burning the downed trees, housing material and other debris that could become
airborne, banging into homes and endangering anyone who ventures outside. If
debris penetrates a home's window or wall, that would allow Jeanne's winds to
get inside and push off the roof.
At a mobile home park on the Intracoastal Waterway, George MacArthur's home
was one of the few that remained intact amid mounds of twisted metal, smashed
furniture, broken tiles and garbage bins filled with trash. He feared his home
was about to be smashed by all the debris Jeanne flings about.
"All the ones in the front got it last time. Now it's my turn," MacArthur
said.
The storm will make the already formidable job of keeping the lights on in
Florida even more difficult — especially if Jeanne follows in Frances' path,
giving its wind piles of ammunition to topple power lines.
Electric company officials feared Hurricane Jeanne could leave millions of
customers without power, some for three weeks or more. An estimated 6 million
people were affected by outages caused by Hurricane Frances.
About 12,000 customers already were without power in South Florida on
Saturday. In the Panhandle, more than 81,000 homes and business remained without
electricity because of Hurricane Ivan.
Florida Power and Light, the state's largest power company, had recruited
2,500 workers from around the country to help with the impending restoration
effort, and was trying to recruit more, company president Armando Olivera said.
Gas stations and businesses were boarded up and deserted Saturday afternoon,
and law enforcement took to the radio airwaves, saying that anyone who was
outside their homes after the 6 p.m. curfew would end up in jail.
It was unknown how many of the 2 million people urged to evacuate actually
did, but Judy and Terry Smith, their daughter and son-in-law were among them.
They were driving from their home on Merritt Island inland to a hotel in
Orlando, bringing their one dog and five cats with them. Their house was spared
by Frances, but they weren't taking any chances with Jeanne.
"What can you do?" Judy Smith asked. "You've got your house insurance, and
everything in it can be replaced. Everything I care about is right here," she
said, motioning to her family, her eyes filling with tears.
State officials said more than 31,000 people were housed in shelters
Saturday. Many of them have homes that were damaged by Hurricane Frances.
LaTrease Haliburton reluctantly checked into a West Palm Beach shelter with
her 6-year-old daughter, who has had nightmares since Frances caved in the
bathroom ceiling in her family's apartment.
"I don't want to be here, but what else can I do," Haliburton said. "I want
to make sure my daughter isn't as scared this time. ... I'm hoping this is
easier on her."
Others were trying to ride out the storm. Behind a fire station in
Titusville, a pile of sand, bags and shovels were open to all. Alfred Grace was
filling sandbags to put on his roof to hold down the tarps covering damage from
the last hurricane.
Johnny Curry, 50, a Kennedy Space Center engineer, wanted sandbags to
keep water away from the back of his house. Water almost got into his patio door
during Frances.
"I can't do anything about this until I retire," said Curry, who ultimately
plans to move to Georgia. "This is getting a little old."
At 5 p.m. EDT, Jeanne was centered about 105 miles east-southeast of Vero
Beach and was moving west and slightly north at 14 mph, slightly faster than
Friday.
Jeanne was expected to turn north over central Florida and stay inland over
Georgia and the Carolinas through Tuesday. Rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches
were expected in the storm's path, and flooding could be a major concern because
previous hurricanes have already saturated the ground and filled canals, rivers
and lakes.
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