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Last Updated: Dec 15, 2007 - 2:55:41 AM |
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Florida ordered the mandatory evacuation today of visitors in the Florida Keys as Tropical Storm Ernesto tracked toward the state from the Caribbean. The storm became a hurricane, the first of the Atlantic season, early today, then weakened as it swept by Haiti.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a hurricane watch for the Keys, indicating that hurricane conditions are possible in the area within 36 hours.
The system weakened to a tropical storm with winds of 50 miles per hour (85 kilometers per hour) from the hurricane threshold of 75 mph this afternoon, according to an advisory from the center at 8 p.m. New York time. The storm may regain hurricane strength as it passes Haiti and heads toward Cuba, the center said.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush today declared a state of emergency, citing forecast models that have the system's center passing near Key West on the night of Aug. 29 and hitting the Tampa Bay area the afternoon of Aug. 31.
Hitting Haiti
The storm as of 8 p.m. was centered near the mountainous southwestern tip of Haiti, about 140 miles from Guantanamo, Cuba moving at about 7 mph, the center said. The storm is expected to strengthen once it passes Haiti and may regain hurricane status as it nears the southern coast of eastern Cuba tomorrow morning, the center said.
``Additional hurricane watches may be required for portions of the Florida peninsula tonight,'' the center said in the 8 p.m. advisory.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management's evacuation plan to bring non-residents off the islands off the southern tip of Florida began at 1 p.m. today.
The fourth storm of the current Atlantic hurricane season formed just before the Aug. 29 anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on the Gulf Coast one year ago, causing more than $81 billion in damage and killing more than 1,800 people.
Katrina Jitters
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour said today on the CBS News program ``Face the Nation'' that he would order people to move out as early as if weather forecasters predict Ernesto will hit his state.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, appearing on the NBC News program ``Meet the Press,'' said he would decide about an evacuation 30 hours to 36 hours before the storm makes landfall and would use whatever transportation is available to get everyone out of the city.
By this time a year ago, the Atlantic had produced 11 named storms, four of which became hurricanes. Fifteen hurricanes formed last year, making it the most active season on record, and Katrina's devastation of the Gulf Coast one year ago this week made it the costliest U.S. natural disaster.
``I'd like the residents of Broward County to know that the first true storm threat of 2006 is in our vicinity,'' Broward County, Florida, Mayor Ben Graber said in a statement this afternoon. ``Although there is no eminent threat at this time, the potential for rapid change is present. All residents should begin to prepare as if the hurricane is approaching our shores, and remember, be prepared for three to five days in case the hurricane does arrive.''
Rigs Prepare
A track toward the west coast of Florida would keep Ernesto from the busy oil and gas fields of the central Gulf of Mexico. Energy companies have evacuated non-essential staff from drilling platforms.
ConocoPhillips, the third-biggest U.S. oil company, evacuated 35 to 40 non-essential personnel from its Green Canyon and Garden Banks facilities, spokesman Jeff Callender said.
``Current projections indicate the hurricane won't come anywhere near our facilities,'' Callender in an interview today. ``We're taking these steps in case the storm changes course so we have fewer people to evacuate later.''
Shell evacuated 110 workers, the Hague, Netherlands-based company said in a statement. London-based BP withdrew 800 workers, leaving 1,600 offshore, spokesman David Nicholas said today by phone.
Katrina and Hurricane Rita last year damaged oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and shut as much as 30 percent of U.S. refining capacity. The price of oil rose 12 percent in August 2005.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: August 27, 2006 20:36 EDT
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