Dennis
Hurricane Dennis slams US Gulf Coast still recovering from Ivan
By Agence France Presse
Jul 10, 2005 - 5:21:00 PM

PANAMA CITY, United States (AFP) - Deadly Hurricane Dennis slammed ashore on the US Gulf coast, causing fears of renewed devastation in the very area pounded by a similar storm that caused dozens of deaths last year.

The powerful storm uprooted trees and downed power lines as it made landfall at 2:25 pm (1925 GMT) just outside Pensacola, Florida, the city worst hit by Hurricane Ivan, one of four storms that pounded the southeastern US state last year.

Dennis sent signposts, tree limbs and roof tiles flying and large waves crashing ashore as its eyewall entered land, threatening structures weakened by Ivan 10 months ago.

It lost a little steam in the Gulf of Mexico just before crashing ashore but remained a powerful category three hurricane on a scale that goes up to five, packing winds of up to 192 kilometers (120 miles) per hour.

The year's first Atlantic hurricane, Dennis killed at least 16 people in the Caribbean and one person in southern Florida before pounding the US Gulf shores.

Authorities had ordered 1.5 million people to evacuate coastal areas ranging from western Florida to New Orleans, but said Sunday morning that anyone who had not left should hunker down and brace for the storm's fury.

Authorities warned that Dennis would impact areas far inland. "Hurricane force winds associated with Dennis may occur as far as 150 to 175 miles (240 to 280 kilometers) inland along the track of the hurricane," the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Severe flooding as well as tornadoes could occur along the inland track of the storm, whose remnants are expected to stall near the Ohio Valley, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) north of Pensacola.

Coastal areas pounded by the storm are still recovering from the devastation wrought by Ivan, and some residents had just moved back into their hurricane-damaged homes when they were told to head to safety yet again.

Many of the structures damaged last year were still being repaired after being weakened when Ivan, a category-three storm, struck 10 months ago, killing at least 30 people.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned that "people have to be braced for a very serious storm."

He said federal authorities had deployed significant emergency supplies and personnel. "We are ready," he told the ABC television network.

Oil rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated ahead of the storm, and several airports in the threatened area were closed.

In Cuba, President Fidel Castro said the hurricane had killed 10 people and temporarily displaced another 1.5 million as it crossed the island.

In Haiti, Dennis left at least five people dead, 20 injured and 30 listed as missing, and caused 8,000 people to flee their homes.

In Jamaica, a man reportedly died when he was washed away in flood waters.

When the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, its outer bands raged over southern Florida, where one person was reported killed by a downed power line in Fort Lauderdale.

NASA has also been keeping a close eye on the weather system, but said Dennis could actually clear away inclement weather ahead of Wednesday's planned liftoff of Discovery, the first space shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster grounded flights in February 2003.