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2008 Tropical Storm Fay - Florida Warnings |
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The News -
Current Events
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August 18, 2008 |
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Tropical Storm Fay made an unexpected shift to the north early this morning, putting emergency officials in Broward and Palm Beach counties on alert for possible flooding and high winds. Early today, a tropical storm warning was issued for Florida's east coast from Jupiter Inlet southward and along Florida's west coast from Bonita Beach southward, including Lake Okeechobee.
A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef to Key West. A hurricane watch was in effect for most of the Keys and along Florida's west coast to Tarpon Springs. A tropical storm watch was in effect for from north of Jupiter Inlet to Sebastian Inlet.
While some Key West businesses began putting up hurricane shutters in preparation for Fay, tourists and residents still strolled lazily through town. Some even seemed jaded as they talked about the impending storm, which threatened to strengthen to a hurricane. Source : Sun Sentinel
`We've seen worse than this in Omaha,'' said Diego Sainz, who was visiting from Nebraska with his wife and friends. They had intended to leave Sunday but couldn't get a flight out.
Farther east in Marathon, Joseph Kirby listened to classical music while he leisurely packed up patio furniture and made sure no projectiles were lying around his mobile home. In the 14 years 70-year-old Kirby has lived in the Keys, he said he's only evacuated twice and said Tropical Storm Fay is nothing to worry about.
``It's so hard to leave. You have to worry about break ins. If you're here, you can keep an eye on things,'' said Kirby, who gassed up both his cars and said he will leave if Fay strengthens to more than a Category 2 hurricane.
Traffic leaving Key West and the Lower Keys on Sunday afternoon was light but steady as the sky darkened with storm clouds and the National Weather Service issued watches and warnings.
A hurricane watch was in effect for most of the Keys and along Florida's west coast to Tarpon Springs.
Authorities said traffic was heavier in the Upper Keys, where the 110-mile, mostly two-lane highway that runs through the island chain meets the mainland. The Florida Highway Patrol sent in extra troopers to help and tolls were suspended on parts of the northbound turnpike.
Fay could start pelting parts of the Keys and South Florida late today or early Tuesday as a strong tropical storm or minimal hurricane. Aside from wind damage, most of the islands sit at sea level and could face some limited flooding from Fay's storm surge.
Officials in the Keys and elsewhere planned to open shelters and encouraged or ordered people who live in low-lying areas and on boats to evacuate. Schools in the Keys were to be closed today and Tuesday.
Keys officials earlier Sunday had issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors and asked those who had not yet arrived to postpone their trips. Officials said hotels and businesses won't be forced to remove visitors, but they should use common sense.
Fay, the sixth storm of the 2008 Atlantic season, was expected to approach hurricane strength after crossing Cuba and begin approaching the Keys. Fay has already killed at least five people after battering Haiti and the Dominican Republic with weekend torrential rains and floods.
At 5 a.m. EDT Monday, the storm's center was located over central Cuba and about 155 miles south-southeast of Key West and was moving toward the north-northwest near 12 mph. Maximum sustained wind speeds were near 50 mph. Forecasters expected the storm to begin moving to the north soon.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain was briefed Sunday on the storm by emergency officials after flying into Orlando for campaign events. A Monday fundraiser in Miami was canceled as a precaution.
Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency Saturday as an emergency operations center opened in Tallahassee. He urged Floridians ``to remain calm, remain vigilant'' and said 9,000 Florida National Guard troops were available, but only 500 were on active duty Sunday.
Key West was last seriously affected by a hurricane in 2005, when Category 3 Wilma sped past. The town escaped widespread wind damage, but a storm surge flooded hundreds of homes and some businesses.
The deadliest storm to hit the island was a Category 4 hurricane in 1919 that killed up to 900 people, many of them offshore on ships that sank. |
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