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Metropolis Reality Forums Ť Wilma to accelerate toward Florida ť

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   Wilma to accelerate toward Florida

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Topic: Wilma to accelerate toward Florida (Read 186 times)

Rhune
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Wilma to accelerate toward Florida
« on: Oct 23^rd, 2005, 12:12pm »

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Wilma to accelerate toward Florida
Hurricane warnings issued in Sunshine State

Sunday, October 23, 2005; Posted: 12:33 p.m. EDT (16:33 GMT)

CANCUN, Mexico (CNN) -- Hurricane Wilma moved away from Mexico's Yucatan on Sunday and was expected to gain speed toward southern Florida, where hurricane warnings were in effect.

The Category 2 storm is expected to reach Florida on Monday as a strong Category 2 or possibly 3 hurricane, said Ed Rappaport of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

The Florida landfall should be about daybreak Monday, Rappaport said.

Storm-weary Florida residents were preparing for what would be the seventh hurricane to hit the state in 14 months. (Watch latest forecast -- 2:32)

Rappaport cautioned that the storm's right side, always the stronger side of a hurricane, will damage a larger area than Hurricane Charley, which hit southwest Florida in August 2004.

"This is going to be a much more significant event, more widespread for Florida even than Charley was," he said, also warning of a storm surge stronger than the earlier hurricane.

In the coming hours, Wilma is expected to take off across the Gulf of Mexico with high hurricane speeds.

"We think it'll be moving about 20 to 25 mph by the time it hits Florida," Rappaport said.

At 11 a.m. ET, Wilma had maximum sustained winds near 100 mph (160 kph) and was heading northeast at 8 mph (13 kph). (Latest on Florida)

A hurricane warning has been issued for the Florida Keys and for the east coast of the Sunshine State from Titusville southward and along the west coast from Longboat Key southward. (Watch how some are experiencing hurricane fatigue -- 2:05)

The storm's center is about 285 miles (460 kilometers) west-southwest of Key West, Florida.

Deaths in Mexico
Wilma forced more than 35,000 people, mostly tourists, to spend two days holed up in hotels and shelters in Cancun. (Watch Wilma whip Cancun -- 1:32)

Felix Gonzalez Canto, governor of Quintana Roo state, reported two deaths in Mexico's Playa del Carmen after a gas tank exploded as well as "a lot of destruction" in Cozumel, Isla Mujeres and Cancun.

No deaths have been reported in Cancun or Cozumel, both in Quintana Roo, the governor said.

Wind and water damage from Wilma were evident across Cancun as debris blocked roads.

Although it was not expected to take a direct hit from Wilma, Cuba has been evacuating some 500,000 residents from the western part of the island since Wednesday. (See video on Cuba's preparedness -- 2:09 )

Florida prepares
In Florida, the storm was expected to dump up to 8 inches of rain over the southern part of the state, including the Keys, through Tuesday, with isolated amounts of up to 12 inches possible.

"Even though it will be moving fairly quickly, it still could be a significant rainmaker, in part because it is such a large system," according to Richard Knabb, a hurricane center meteorologist.

Florida officials said they expect Wilma's interaction with an approaching cold front to spawn an unusually high number of tornadoes.

In southeastern Florida, the outer bands of Wilma flooded the streets of Oakland Park in Broward County near Fort Lauderdale.

Tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph (63 kph) are expected to start hitting the Florida Keys by sunset Sunday, said Monroe County Emergency Operations manager Billy Wagner.

Evacuations and curfews have been called for in parts of southwestern Florida ahead of Wilma's arrival. A phased mandatory evacuation for residents of the Florida Keys began Saturday, Wagner said. Tourists left the Keys on Wednesday.

Door to door
In southwestern Florida, police teams went door to door on Sanibel and Captiva islands, which were also under mandatory evacuation orders. (Watch evacuations in Sanibel Island -- 1:43)

Seven shelters with a total capacity of 14,000 and a special-needs shelter for 300 people have been opened, said Booch Demarchi, spokesman for Lee County's emergency operations center.

The county, which includes Sanibel and Captiva, have added extra buses and drivers to take people lacking transportation to the shelters, Demarchi said.

Commissioners of Collier County -- which includes Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City -- imposed a curfew on all areas under mandatory evacuation orders.

Alpha weakens
Meanwhile, Alpha was downgraded Sunday from a tropical storm to a tropical depression after making landfall near the town of Barahone in the Dominican Republic.

Life-threatening flash floods and mudslides were possible on the island of Hispaniola, the center said, with possible rainfall of 4 to 8 inches and isolated amounts of 15 inches over mountains. (Full story)

Alpha marks the first time the list of storm names has been exhausted, necessitating the use of the Greek alphabet. It became the 22nd named storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season Saturday, making this year the most active one on record for tropical storms.

CNN's Susan Candiotti, Allan Chernoff, Dave Hennen, Jeanne Meserve and Lucia Newman contributed to this report.

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Re: Wilma to accelerate toward Florida
« Reply #1 on: Oct 24^th, 2005, 2:38pm »

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I hope all our Floridian posters are OK. I hope your homes are OK and your power is restored ASAP. Sad

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Rhune
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Re: Wilma to accelerate toward Florida
« Reply #2 on: Oct 24^th, 2005, 3:38pm »

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Me too!

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