Tropical storm hugs Florida coast

Tropical Storm Fay is continuing northwards, with northern Florida and much of Georgia set for a drenching, the US National Hurricane Center says.

Fay is following an erratic path, hugging the Florida coastline, instead of heading out over the ocean.

Forecasters say this makes it less likely that Fay will strengthen to a hurricane, but parts of north Florida and Georgia are still on alert.

Fay was blamed for at least a dozen deaths in the Caribbean.

A state of emergency had been declared for what is the sixth tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, but officials dropped the hurricane warning early on Tuesday after Fay made landfall near Naples on Florida’s west coast.The storm brought drenching rain and winds of 65mph (105km/h) across the state.

Several tornadoes were also reported, with one ripping through Brevard County damaging more than 50 homes.

Fay then reached Florida’s east coast at 0200 local time (0600 GMT) on Wednesday, about 15 miles (24km) south-southeast of Melbourne. Its maximum sustained winds remained near 50mph (80km/h).

At 1200 GMT, the centre of Fay was close to Cape Canaveral, moving northwards at 5 mph (8km/h) but its wind speed had lessened to 45mph (70km/h).

However a hurricane watch remained in effect for the east coast north of Flagler Beach, Florida, to Altamaha Sound, Georgia.

In south-east Georgia, Camden County officials sent out teams to clean out storm drains and ditches in preparation for possible flooding.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency has also started a 24-hour monitoring operation of the storm.

Hope for farmers

A forecast from the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday predicted that the storm’s path would take it through Alabama over the weekend.

However, the heavy rain has not been bad news for everyone. Farmers in drought-hit areas of southern Georgia are hoping for a visit from Fay.

“It’s very seldom we’re hoping for a hurricane, but we are,” said Randy Branch, a cotton and peanut farmer in south-east Georgia. “We need some rain pretty bad.”

Initially, Fay drenched parts of Cuba, but its passage over Haiti and the Dominican Republic was more destructive, with more than a dozen deaths reported.

Florida braced for tropical storm

The US state of Florida is braced for Tropical Storm Fay, which is thought to have claimed dozens of lives on its rampage through the Caribbean.

Forecasters warned Fay could reach hurricane force as it approached the Florida peninsula.

The storm’s center has already crossed Florida Key West with winds near 60mph (97km/h), flooding some roads.

Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist warned that Fay threatened a “major disaster”, but he insisted the state was prepared.

With a state of emergency in place, Mr Crist said some 500 national guard members had been deployed, with another 8,500 on standby.

The US National Hurricane Center said the storm still had the potential to top sustained winds of 74 mph (119 km/h) by the time it hits the west coast of Florida early on Tuesday.

Across Florida at least 22 school districts, a number of colleges and a university have canceled classes.

HOW HURRICANES FORM Sea surface temperatures above 26.5C (79.7F) A pre-existing weather disturbance Moisture in the atmosphere Favourable conditions, such as light winds or weak wind shear

Residents of Miami have been stocking up on bottled water, fuel and other vital supplies.

The main highway linking the Keys to the mainland was choked with traffic on Sunday as thousands of tourists evacuated.

But not everyone was hunkering down – hundreds of surfers flocked to Miami beaches to take advantage of the huge swells created by the storm.

In Cuba, Fay caused some flooding and damaged a number of homes, although no deaths were reported.

But a number of lives were lost in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The worst incident was in Haiti, where a truck carrying up to 80 passengers plunged into a swollen river.

Officials there said more than half the passengers were missing, with many feared drowned.

Fay is the sixth tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season.

Two of the tropical storms so far, Bertha and Dolly, have reached hurricane strength.

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US Gulf states prepare for storm

Weather forecasters in the US have warned that a tropical storm could gain near-hurricane strength winds before reaching Texas or Louisiana.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Tropical Storm Edouard was crossing the Gulf of Mexico and could make landfall by Tuesday morning.

The governor of Louisiana declared a state of emergency as winds reached sustained speeds of 45mph (75 km/h).

Oil workers have left some offshore rigs but no damage has been reported.

Evacuations

A hurricane watch is in place from west of Intracoastal City, in western Louisiana, to Port O’Connor in Texas, south-west of Galveston.

About 6,000 residents of two communities in western Louisiana had been asked to evacuate low-lying coastal areas.

The mayor of Galveston has not ordered an evacuation but has asked residents and visitors to be prepared.

A storm is considered to be a hurricane once its winds reach an average speed of at least 74mph (119 km/h), according to the NHC.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port has stopped offloading tankers and two oil firms were evacuating workers from platforms, Reuters news agency said.

Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell said they were removing employees from rigs as a precaution, but both insisted that production had not been affected.

Oil prices dropped below $120 a barrel on Monday for the first time since early May as it appeared unlikely that the storm would significantly affect oil and gas facilities.

The Houston Ship Channel has also closed.

Hurricane Dolly

At 1300 CDT (1900 BST) Edouard was 145 miles (230km) south-southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana and 240 miles (390km) east-southeast of Galveston, Texas, a statement by the NHC said.

“Edouard could be nearing hurricane strength before reaching the coastline,” it added.

Rainfall of 3ins to 5ins (7.6cm to (12.7cm) was predicted in Louisiana, and up to 10 inches (25.4cm) in Texas.

With winds extending outwards from the centre of a tropical storm for 35 miles (56km), residents were braced for the second bout of severe weather to batter the Gulf’s coastline in a month.

On 24 July, a state of disaster was declared in 14 Texas counties when Hurricane Dolly lashed the state’s coast with winds of 100mph (161km/h).

The Gulf of Mexico supplies about 25% of the US’s crude oil.

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