HURRICANE IRENE - 10-14-99

updated 10-18-99

3p.m.

HURRICANE IRENE

10-14-99

Hurricane Irene Track

Irene Likely To Cause N.C. Floods

By PAUL NOWELL

.c The Associated Press

TARBORO, N.C. (AP) -(October 18, 1999) The nearly one foot of rain dropped by Hurricane Irene is all but guaranteed to bring another round of flooding to North Carolina later this week, demoralizing people still reeling from Hurricane Floyd a month ago.

``You get lifted up and the next thing you know, something else happens,'' said Karen Mabry, who was flooded out of her mobile home by Floyd and was kept out by Irene on Monday. She has been staying in an apartment supplied by the Red Cross but has had trouble sleeping.

``I keep waking up and looking out the window to make sure nothing else is happening,'' she said. ``It's just terrible. It's horrible.''

Barely hurricane strength, Irene soaked North Carolina's soggy coastal plain Sunday with up to 11 inches of rain before veering out into the Atlantic without ever coming ashore. At 5 p.m. EDT, Irene was 200 miles south-southeast of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, moving northeast at 48 mph.

Irene was blamed for one death in North Carolina, a motorist whose vehicle skidded into a tree. At least eight other people died as a result of the storm, five of them in Florida.

The rains once again sent streams from their banks and promised to produce more serious flooding later this week as runoff drains into the Tar, Neuse and Cape Fear rivers.

For the past two months, it has been one thing after another in eastern North Carolina.

First there was Hurricane Dennis, which battered the coast for a week before coming inland and dumping up to 8 inches of rain. Two weeks later, Floyd poured 20 inches of rain on the region, causing 49 deaths here and the worst flooding in state history. Eight more inches fell less than two weeks after that. Irene came next.

To help flood victims cope, the Red Cross has sent 244 mental health workers to eastern North Carolina - more than for any other disaster except the Oklahoma City bombing.

``People are overwhelmed right now by the fact that they have to clean up after the storms and be a mom and a dad and an employee,'' Red Cross spokeswoman Gina Giarronardo said.

Judy Farrar, a Red Cross mental health counselor in Tarboro, said Monday that many people have become ``hypervigilant'' - nervously mindful of every change of weather, every rainfall.

In Tarboro, at the center of Floyd's flooding Sept. 16, the Tar River is expected to crest Wednesday 4 feet above its 19-foot flood stage.

``I just hope that it gets better soon,'' said Casheila Draughn, 43, who was at a Red Cross recovery center with her 88-year-old grandmother, Liza Staton, and her daughter Tawanna, 22. ``Obviously, it can't be as bad as it was the last time, but I'm just hoping for life to get close to normal.''

Near Pinetops, which was devastated by Floyd's floodwaters, Leroy Johnson watched the waters rising on a Tar River tributary and said it didn't worry him much: ``People are at ease now because this time they have nothing to lose,'' he noted.

In the town of Seven Springs, which saw record flooding from Floyd, the Neuse is expected to crest Wednesday 9 feet above its 14-foot flood stage.

Town Commissioner Elizabeth Quinn, who has been living in a camper since Floyd flooded her home, said she and the four other town commissioners decided to proceed with the annual Christmas parade, whatever comes.

``We might not have pretty houses and pretty yards, but we've got to keep our spirits up,'' she said. Still, she said, all the rain was ``enough to keep you worried to death all the time. The ground is saturated, and it wouldn't take much to blow a tree down.''

A signed taped to the front of the trailer that now serves as the town hall read: ``Remember the Alamo. Remember Seven Springs.''

In Florida, more than 370,000 people were still without power, three days after Irene drenched the state.

Some people were already keeping watch on the next potential menace: Tropical Storm Jose, far away in the Atlantic. Jose was more than 200 miles east of Barbados but was strengthening and expected to become a hurricane in the next few days.

Forecasters were uncertain of its track but said it could threaten the United States.

AP-NY-10-18-99 1743EDT

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Irene Moves Out to Sea

Displaced N.C. Families Moved Again

By PAUL NOWELL

.c The Associated Press

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (Oct. 18, 99) - Two-time refugee Herbert Person Jr. knows his long-running nightmare is beyond control, but he's still frustrated and angry by Hurricane Floyd, and now Irene.

''I'm getting to the point where I can't take it any more,'' said Person, one of about 300 other refugees from Princeville, Tarboro and Rocky Mount, the eastern towns hardest hit by Floyd last month.

Person and many others had moved into vacation-style campers provided by the government a few weeks ago after water from the Tar River reached the roofs of their homes and businesses.

They were evacuated again to a Rocky Mount school over the weekend before Hurricane Irene dumped more rain because their trailers are not designed to withstand strong winds.

''I've worked hard all my life and paid taxes and now I feel like I have nothing,'' said Person, who during Floyd lost his Princeville home, which was nearly paid for. ''I can't work because I have to take care of business. But if I don't work I'm afraid the bank will take my truck.

''I'm so stressed out I don't know what to do,'' he said.

The American Red Cross reported that about 700 people were staying at shelters Sunday across eastern North Carolina. Most were expected to be able to go home today after Hurricane Irene headed out into the Atlantic.

Those among the 170 people at the D.S. Johnson School on Sunday were more philosophical than Person about their plight.

''I fear the next step we're going to make is in the ground,'' Fannie Lewis said glumly as heavy rain drummed on a corrugated plastic roof over the walkway at the school. ''You can run, but you can't hide.''

Lewis, 37, isn't a complainer. But sleeping on a gymnasium floor again is not what the doctor recommended for her bad back. She's on disability after undergoing three operations for a ruptured disc.

''I'm trying to hold on because where there's a will there's a way,'' she said. ''But this is sad.''

Haywood Sherrod, 50, suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes. His medication is back in his camper trailer.

''They came by around 6:30 p.m. last night and told us we had to leave because they were concerned about the high winds,'' he said Sunday. ''I just said, 'Oh, no. Not again.' It's hard to run again.''

Despite his ailments, Sherrod coped with the bad food, the hard floors and the boisterous children at the shelter at Tarboro High School for two weeks. He moved into one of the campers just to find himself back in another storm shelter.

''It's going to be a long time before the people around here can get Floyd out of our minds,'' he said.

A few feet away, evacuees were lining up for a lunch of chicken, french fries and soft drinks.

''I feel like a prisoner,'' said Christine Crews, 25, as she waited her turn with her mother, Barbara Crews, 48. ''I was forced to run from my home, then they put me in a trailer. We were just starting to settle in. Then they knock on my door and tell me I have to run again.''

AP-NY-10-18-99 0406EDT

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Damages Mount as Florida Assesses Impact of Irene

By Patricia Zengerle

Reuters

MIAMI (Oct. 17, 99) - Floridians bade a grateful farewell to Hurricane Irene, then applied themselves Sunday to assessing the impact of the worst weather in the heavily populated southern end of the state since 1992's catastrophic Hurricane Andrew.

Irene headed toward South Carolina's coast Sunday after two days of dousing Florida with torrential rains. Although a weak hurricane with top sustained winds of just 75 mph , Irene left seven people dead from electrocution and drowning and affected the lives of millions of others.

Florida Power & Light said 410,000 customers were without power Sunday morning, many in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach area of 5 million residents hit by Irene Friday. But others living farther north were left in the dark as Irene headed through the Atlantic, east of the state Saturday.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas estimated damages at more than $120 million in the county alone. He said that figure did not include yet to be calculated harm to homes and other facilities inundated by the storm's record rains.

''Damages are estimated at $50 million in terms of county damages, the emergency buildup plus the actual physical infrastructure damages. We're estimating about $76 million in agricultural damages,'' Penelas told Reuters.

Estimates of total damages in the state from Irene were expected over the next several days, Florida officials said.

''It was flooding, a lot of flooding. You do have mobile home damage, wind damage, but a lot of flooding. And we won't know the full extent of that. The next couple of days should show us more,'' said Ann Rowe, a spokeswoman for the State Division of Emergency Management.

Flood waters from up to 17 inches of rain were receding by Sunday, but traffic remained snarled with streets still under water. Farm fields looked like lakes, and houses in some neighborhoods resembled islands poking out of inland seas.

''My whole backyard got flooded. My room was under about an inch of water. Some of the furniture was damaged and water seeped into my car and wet the rugs,'' said Lester Torres, a department store employee from Sweetwater, a town west of Miami among those hardest hit by flooding.

One area south of Miami inundated Friday was Country Walk, a neighborhood among those devastated when Andrew, a vicious hurricane almost twice as strong as Irene, devastated a swath of southern Florida seven years earlier.

In Palm Beach County, there was a report Saturday night of the release of 500,000 gallons of raw sewage, which turned out to be treated material and not a threat to residents' health, emergency officials said.

Irene dumped what forecasters called ''historic'' levels of rain. Boynton Beach, south of Palm Beach, reported more than 17 inches. Cooper City, southwest of Fort Lauderdale, had more than 15 inches.

Penelas said Miami-area offices and schools would open as usual Monday and that life should return to normal except for areas hit hardest by the storm.

''Obviously, in those isolated areas where we do have extensive flooding, I think it may be difficult to get their lives back to normal that quickly,'' he said.

Reut16:10 10-17-99

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Hurricane Irene Moves Out to Sea

By EMERY DALESIO

.c The Associated Press

WILMINGTON, N.C. (Oct. 18, 99) - Hurricane Irene raced out to sea today, but not before dumping nearly a foot of rain in parts of eastern North Carolina and rekindling fears of residents displaced by Hurricane Floyd a month ago.

North Carolina's third hurricane in two months churned through Florida during the weekend and up the southeast U.S. coast toward the Carolinas. Late Sunday, it turned northeast back to sea.

Irene's maximum sustained winds increased to 105 mph overnight and it accelerated its movement out into the Atlantic. Tropical storm warnings were canceled as the storm moved away from the coast.

''Given the current forecast track, the core of the hurricane should stay off the North Carolina coast,'' said Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. ''It looks like it will go out to sea and will never return.''

At 5 a.m. EDT, the storm was 105 miles east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, moving northeast at 35 mph. Storm surges of up to 4 feet above normal were expected to decrease later today.

Torrential rains - mostly from 3 inches to 6 inches but up to 11 inches in isolated areas - closed several dozen roads. The rain had stopped falling by early today, and forecasters expected skies to clear rapidly.

But delayed river flooding and washed-out roads were still the biggest concern to state officials. The Tar, Neuse and Cape Fear rivers were expected to be above flood stage by the middle of the week. During Floyd, most of the state's 49 deaths involved rising water, not high wind.

''The sun can come out, the winds can die down, and there can still be deadly force among us,'' state public safety secretary Richard Moore said Sunday.

Officials in south-central Hoke County today evacuated 150 homes near a small lake whose dam was overflowing and in danger of breaking. Public schools in several eastern counties were closed or delaying opening today because of uncertain road conditions.

Authorities said that roughly 500 people in adjacent Cumberland County were without water after their water system failed.

In southeast Virginia, the hurricane dumped up to a foot of rain Sunday and early today, flooding some streets.

In South Carolina, more than 6 inches of rain fell on Horry County, which was still trying to dry out from the 20 inches of rain left behind by Hurricane Floyd. The rain had stopped by Sunday night.

As Irene neared North Carolina, an evacuation order was issued for several beach towns near Wilmington, and people living in low-lying areas and mobile homes were encouraged to seek shelter.

Many left homeless by Floyd, which dumped up to 20 inches of rain Sept. 16, were evacuated from temporary trailer villages to shelters. About 6,000 homes were damaged during Floyd, with damage expected in the billions of dollars.

''It's sad, it's really sad,'' said Fannie Lewis of Princeville, which took the brunt of Floyd's deluge last month. She was waiting out Irene at a Rocky Mount school that was turned into a shelter. ''I'm trying to hold on because where there's a will there's a way. But this is sad.''

The American Red Cross reported at least 690 people were staying in shelters Sunday night. More than 2,100 homes and businesses were without power in the eastern half of the state as of Sunday evening.

Moore said the worst flooding was expected in the Fayetteville area and along the Cape Fear River, which was expected later this week to crest 20 feet above flood stage, or more than 10 feet higher than it climbed after Floyd.

A 43-year-old motorist died Sunday in a storm-related accident when a vehicle hydroplaned into a tree in Granville County. Irene has been blamed for seven deaths, five of them in Florida and two in Cuba.

Two people were injured from separate tornadoes spawned by the hurricane. One touched down Sunday evening near Weeksville in Pasquotank County, destroying six homes, damaging several more and causing one injury. Another tornado caused damage and an injury near Jacksonville.

Wind gusts reached 47 mph on the Outer Banks late Sunday.

State officials prepared for Irene by activating 500 National Guardsmen, opening 39 Guard armories and putting 10 water rescue teams on standby.

''We may not see the real dangers present themselves for several days,'' said Andy James with North Carolina's emergency response team.

Meanwhile, another weather system in the Atlantic became Tropical Storm Jose early today and was expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the next few days.

Barbados was put under a hurricane watch and forecasters said a similar watch could be issued for the southeastern Caribbean later today.

AP-NY-10-18-99 0916EDT

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N.C. Readies for Hurricane Irene

State of Emergency Declared

By EMERY P. DALESIO

.c The Associated Press

WILMINGTON, N.C. (Oct. 17, 99) - Hurricane Irene continued to track toward North Carolina early Sunday, bringing the potential for more flooding in the storm-weary state.

Officials reported no sustained tropical-force winds on land before dawn on Sunday, with sustained winds near 50 mph clocked over coastal waters. Still, Irene continued to maintain sustained winds of 75 mph - just above the threshold for a hurricane.

At 5 a.m. EDT Sunday, the center of the storm was about 110 miles east-northeast of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., and moving north at 9 mph. A gradual turn toward the north-northeast, along with an increase in speed, was forecast for later Sunday.

Projections from the National Hurricane Center put the ragged eye of the storm near Cape Romain, just northeast of Charleston, by Sunday afternoon. It was expected to make landfall near the North Carolina-South Carolina state line late Sunday.

A hurricane warning was in effect from Savannah, Ga., to Cape Hatteras, N.C., and a hurricane watch was posted for north of Cape Hatteras to the Virginia line. A tropical storm warning remained in effect from St. Augustine Beach, Fla., to Savannah, Ga.

New Hanover County, N.C. officials opened two shelters Saturday night, and were advising people to leave beach communities.

With a state of emergency declared by Gov. Jim Hunt, officials considered evacuations and warned that it wouldn't take much rain to push rivers in the eastern part of the state back above flood stages. Irene's winds also could threaten camper villages populated by those left homeless by floods from Hurricane Floyd.

''We just got into the mobile homes, the travel trailers,'' said Dorothy Murphy, among those to seek shelter Saturday night in the Pitt County jail gymnasium. ''Now we got to uproot again.''

North Carolina also mobilized 300 National Guard troops Saturday to prepare for the recovery effort, and Eric Tolbert, North Carolina's emergency management director, said many supplies are already in place because of the recovery effort from Hurricane Floyd.

''I'm a little concerned about personnel resources being strained,'' Tolbert said. ''Our personnel are obviously tired.''

So far, Irene has been blamed for at least seven deaths - two in Cuba and five people near Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who were electrocuted by downed power lines. After drenching Cuba's tobacco fields and collapsing buildings in Havana, the storm rolled ashore Friday afternoon 75 miles southwest of Miami and headed north through the Everglades.

At its worst, the storm knocked out power to more than 1.5 million customers, according to Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility. Electricity was restored to about half of them by midday Saturday. As much as 18 inches of wind-driven rain caused scattered flooding over hundreds of miles, from Key West to West Palm Beach.

Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas said crop damage could total $100 million. ''It seems about every piece of farm land is literally under water,'' he said.

It was a month ago Saturday that thousands of coastal residents returned home after fleeing Hurricane Floyd, which destroyed than 6,000 buildings and damaged 9,000 others. At least 49 deaths and damage expected to exceed Hurricane Fran's record $6 billion in 1996 were blamed on the huge storm.

AP-NY-10-17-99 0736EDT

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Hurricane Irene Slides Up East Coast

By DAVE BRYAN

.c The Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 16, 99) - Hurricane Irene began a slow march up the East Coast today, slipping out of Florida after dumping heavy rain and knocking out power to more than a million people.

The storm blamed for at least seven deaths was expected to hug the East Coast as it moved north and forecasters feared it could gain strength and dump several inches of rain on the flood-weary Carolinas through the weekend.

A hurricane watch issued today stretched north to Cape Hatteras, N.C. The storm was packing winds of 80 mph, though its most dangerous winds were directed toward the sea.

In all, Irene is blamed for killing two people in Cuba and five more near Fort Lauderdale who were electrocuted by downed power lines. As much as 18 inches of wind-driven rain caused scattered flooding over hundreds of miles, from Key West to West Palm Beach, where streets were nearly empty early today.

''We're lucky we have power,'' said Tom Sullivan, owner of the El Cid bar, where about a dozen people were on hand as the storm swirled outside.

Don Bury, who turned 38 on Friday, refused to let Irene spoil the party.

''It's only a crime they're not playing Frank Sinatra,'' said Bury, a chef. ''Other than that, I can live with the storm.''

At 11 a.m. EDT today, the center of the storm was about 40 miles east-southeast of Cape Canaveral and moving north at 8 mph. A tropical storm warning remained in effect from north of Jupiter Inlet to Edisto Beach, S.C.

Bridges from the mainland to Brevard County's barrier islands were closed. But John Davis was among those sitting on a scenic overlook, watching whitecaps on the Intracoastal Waterway.

''We've had so many storms this year that I'm just going to get a couple of six packs and watch this one,'' he said.

In the rural Jupiter Farms area of Palm Beach County, fish from overflowing canals swam in the streets. Residents used canoes and flat-bottomed boats to get around.

A man's body was found floating near a vehicle in a flooded Coral Springs canal.

''We don't know if this person maybe drove into the canal, thinking it was the street or a parking lot,'' said police Sgt. Rich Nicorvo.

After drenching Cuba's tobacco fields and collapsing buildings in Havana, Irene rolled ashore Friday afternoon near Cape Sable, 75 miles southwest of Miami, and headed north through the Everglades. Florida Power & Light said today it had restored power to 700,000 people, but more than 1.5 million remained without service in seven counties from Miami to Melbourne.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami had to switch over to backup generators when the power went out for about 30 seconds. It took about 90 minutes to reboot all the computers, during which forecasters were able to get data from elsewhere.

Most airlines suspended service to south Florida and the Miami International Airport was shut down for 3 1/2 hours Friday. The University of Miami closed its campus. High school football games were postponed, as were two $400,000 thoroughbred races scheduled for today at Calder Race Course.

President Clinton declared a state of emergency for Florida, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Administration to coordinate disaster relief efforts with state officials.

The emergency declaration covered 28 counties from Key West to central Florida. In Miami, police said more than 60 streets were under at least 6 inches of water.

Irene's top sustained winds dropped from 85 mph to 75 mph before midnight Friday. But winds strengthened to 80 mph late this morning, and Max Mayfield, deputy director of the hurricane center, said he was worried the storm could grow more powerful before threatening the Carolinas tonight.

Hurricane Floyd dumped 20 inches of rain on eastern North Carolina last month, killing at least 49 people and causing billions of dollars in damage in the state's costliest natural disaster.

AP-NY-10-16-99 1200EDT

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Irene Blamed for Seven Deaths

By DAVE BRYAN

.c The Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) (October 16, 1999) - Hurricane Irene began a slow march up the East Coast today, slipping out of Florida after dumping heavy rain and knocking out power to more than a million people.

A hurricane watch issued today stretched north to Cape Hatteras, N.C. The storm was packing winds of 80 mph, though its most dangerous winds were directed toward the sea.

``We're lucky we have power,'' said Tom Sullivan, owner of the El Cid bar, where about a dozen people were on hand as the storm swirled outside.

Don Bury, who turned 38 on Friday, refused to let Irene spoil the party.

``It's only a crime they're not playing Frank Sinatra,'' said Bury, a chef. ``Other than that, I can live with the storm.''

Bridges from the mainland to Brevard County's barrier islands were closed. But John Davis was among those sitting on a scenic overlook, watching whitecaps on the Intracoastal Waterway.

``We've had so many storms this year that I'm just going to get a couple of six packs and watch this one,'' he said.

In the rural Jupiter Farms area of Palm Beach County, fish from overflowing canals swam in the streets. Residents used canoes and flat-bottomed boats to get around.

A man's body was found floating near a vehicle in a flooded Coral Springs canal.

``We don't know if this person maybe drove into the canal, thinking it was the street or a parking lot,'' said police Sgt. Rich Nicorvo.

President Clinton declared a state of emergency for Florida, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Administration to coordinate disaster relief efforts with state officials.

The emergency declaration covered 28 counties from Key West to central Florida. In Miami, police said more than 60 streets were under at least 6 inches of water.

``This is ridiculous,'' Michael LaCombe said after pushing his car out of shin-deep water. ``I should have called in sick.''

West of Fort Lauderdale, a 48-year-old woman, her 11-year-old twin sons and their 14-year-old friend were electrocuted late Friday at an intersection in Weston by a downed power line. Minutes later, a teen-ager was electrocuted 10 miles away, Broward County Fire Rescue spokesman Todd LeDuc said.

``We've been given out the message all day that you need to stay inside,'' LeDuc said. ``This is not the time to do damage assessment. We have lines down throughout the county.''

That feeling was shared farther north.

``Anytime somebody mentions rain, I worry,'' said Reginald Lee, the assistant manager of Lenoir County, N.C.

``Certainly it's too early to panic,'' said Tom Hegele of the North Carolina emergency management agency. ``If we need to change our focus from recovery to preparation and response for another event, that's what we'll do.''

Hurricane Floyd dumped 20 inches of rain on eastern North Carolina last month, killing at least 49 people and causing billions of dollars in damage in the state's costliest natural disaster.

AP-NY-10-16-99 1200EDT

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Hurricane Floods Streets of Miami

By STEVEN WINE

.c The Associated Press

MIAMI (Oct. 15, 99) - Hurricane Irene unloaded up to 16 inches of rain on Florida, flooding the streets of Miami, stalling cars and knocking out power Friday to hundreds of thousands of people.

With winds of 85 mph, Irene was a relatively weak hurricane, but its heavy rain and sluggish pace made it a menace. And forecasters warned it was on a path that could bring more misery to flood-ravaged North Carolina.

Scattered flooding was reported in a 200-mile area from Key West to West Palm Beach. In Miami, police listed at least 65 streets, including major intersections, with floodwaters at least 6 inches deep.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas urged employers to let workers go home early to ease traffic. ''It's like a permanent high tide,'' he said.

The floodwaters left cars stalled in the streets and thwarted drivers' attempts to get home.

Michael LaCombe, 21, was trying to drive from his job in Miami to his home 12 miles north in Aventura when his car conked out. ''This is ridiculous,'' a soaked LaCombe said after pushing his car out of shin-deep water. ''I should have called in sick.''

The storm moved through the Florida Keys and rolled ashore Friday afternoon near Cape Sable, 75 miles southwest of Miami.

At 8 p.m., it was over the Everglades, about 60 miles southwest of West Palm Beach, moving north-northeast around 13 mph. It was expected to maintain that motion before exiting the state near Cape Canaveral sometime Saturday.

Before striking Florida, Irene drenched Cuba's tobacco fields and collapsed buildings in Havana, where at least two people were killed.

In Florida, at least 425,000 people lost power with no hope of getting it restored until Saturday.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami had to switch over to backup generators when the power went out for about 30 seconds and blacked out computer screens. It took about 90 minutes to reboot all the computers, during which forecasters were able to get the data they needed from Kansas City, Mo., and Washington.

Airports remained open, but most airlines suspended service to South Florida until at least Saturday. The University of Miami closed its campus. High school football games were postponed, as were two $400,000 thoroughbred races scheduled for Saturday at Calder Race Course.

At the Clevelander Hotel on trendy South Beach, only four of 58 rooms were occupied. ''It's just nasty, windy and awful,'' manager Chris Barron said.

President Clinton declared a state of emergency, making federal money available for cleanup.

Forecasters said they expected Irene to push into the Atlantic Ocean and then head inland again near the Georgia-South Carolina line. Heavy rain was a possibility across North Carolina, still recovering from Hurricane Floyd.

''Certainly it's too early to panic,'' said Tom Hegele of the North Carolina emergency management agency. ''If we need to change our focus from recovery to preparation and response for another event, that's what we'll do.''

Hurricane Floyd dumped 20 inches of rain on eastern North Carolina last month, killing at least 49 people and causing billions in damage in the state's costliest natural disaster.

The eye of the hurricane passed near Key West, where the floodwaters in the streets didn't stop the beer from flowing. At Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe, loud cheers erupted when the lights came back on.

''We get busier when the power goes out,'' bartender Doug Gober said. ''There's nothing to do but drink.''

AP-NY-10-15-99 2011EDT

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Hurricane Irene Takes Aim at Florida

By MILDRADE CHERFILS

.c The Associated Press

KEY WEST, Fla. (Oct. 15, 99) - The leading edge of Hurricane Irene brought rain and high wind to the Florida Keys today after the storm drenched Cuba's tobacco fields and caused scattered building collapses around Havana. At least one person was killed.

Though barely a hurricane with 75 mph winds around its center, Irene brought torrential rains that threatened to flood the lower third of the Florida peninsula as the storm crawled across the straits separating Cuba from the United States.

''Were experiencing some strong tropical storm conditions right now from Key West all the way up the Keys as far as Ocean Reef right now,'' Billy Wagner, Monroe County Emergency Management director, said this morning. Big Pine Key had a gust recorded at 103 mph, the National Weather Service said.

Forecasters said areas as far north as Tampa could be flooded, and rainfall totals could top 15 inches.

''It's not a well-organized hurricane, and there's a huge swath of storms and rain to the east'' of its center, said Richard Pasch, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center outside Miami.

At 8 a.m. EDT, Irene was about 25 miles southwest of Key West. Irene had moved slowly and erratically late Thursday, but was moving north at about 8 mph today.

Forecasters said the center of the storm was likely to hit land between Tampa and Fort Myers by Saturday morning.

Officials in Monroe County, which covers the Keys, ordered a mandatory evacuation of mobile homes and recreational vehicles. Schools were closed for the rest of the week.

''It's been raining throughout the night; we've been getting quite a few inches of rain and the wind has picked up enormously from when I came in at (midnight),'' said David Holliman, a security guard at the Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West. ''The trees are swaying quite a bit ... and it's getting worse.''

Four shelters were opened in the Keys: two in Key West and one each in Marathon and Key Largo. Fewer than 100 people were staying at the shelters Thursday night.

''We worked all day yesterday. By the time we finished, it was too late to go north,'' said Jose Guadarrama, a mobile home resident who arrived at the shelter this morning.

The storm left Cuban territory after soaking Havana on Thursday evening. Early reports were that the island escaped relatively unscathed.

During a televised briefing, Havana authorities told President Fidel Castro that one person had been electrocuted and a second person was missing following the storm's march across the capital Thursday afternoon.

Havana Mayor Conrado Martinez said that 149 buildings were damaged by the heavy rains, including 13 that collapsed, and power outages were scattered around the city.

About 130,000 people from western and central Cuba, many of them students in government boarding schools, were evacuated as the hurricane approached. Classes across the region were suspended. Stores, government offices and banks in Havana closed shortly after noon Thursday.

In the western city of Pinar del Rio, laborers worked made sure water didn't leak into warehouses storing the tobacco leaves grown to make Cuba's famous cigars. Cattle and livestock in the rural region were moved to higher ground.

AP-NY-10-15-99 0810EDT

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Hurricane Irene Approaches W. Cuba
Warnings out for Florida

By ANITA SNOW

.c The Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) - October 14, 1999 - Hurricane Irene dumped rain across western Cuba on Thursday, forcing at least 130,000 people to evacuate. Ranchers moved cattle to higher ground, schools and businesses closed and workers sealed warehouses storing Cuba's famous cigar leaves.

In the western province of Pinar del Rio, President Fidel Castro met with civil defense officials about the storm, which also battered Miami with rain, triggering a rash of traffic accidents during Thursday morning rush hour.

``This is not the first time a hurricane has passed over Havana,'' Castro told reporters Thursday evening as the storm's center passed overhead. Castro was headed into the Havana mayor's office for a briefing on damage.

When the eye of the storm passed, wind and rain subsided briefly, allowing Havana residents to venture outside and check on damage to buildings. Many rushed home from work before the other side of the hurricane arrived and skies grew dark again.

A hurricane warning was issued for the Florida Keys, as well as a stretch of Florida coastline from Florida City to Boca Grande, about 85 miles south of Tampa. Areas north of Boca Grande and between Florida City and Jupiter Inlet, on the east coast of the peninsula, were put under a hurricane watch.

At 8 p.m. EDT, Irene was centered slightly south of Havana and about 200 miles south southwest of Fort Myers, Fla. It was moving north-northwest at 7 mph.

Forecasters said they couldn't predict which track the storm would take. Irene - which had sustained winds of 75 mph - could hit the Florida Keys sometime Friday and Florida's southwest coast around Marco Island by Saturday. Marco Island is about 50 miles south of Ft. Myers. Forecasters predicted a potential 13-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay and up to 20 inches of rain.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury in Cuba or Florida. In Havana, there were scattered reports of damage to buildings in Old Havana.

In Cuba, government-controlled television showed Castro congratulating authorities on their ``organizational capacities'' during a tour west of Havana.

Cuba put into effect its civil defense program, which is based on a decades-old defense plan to mobilize the communist country. Castro has a strong interest in disaster planning, often visiting with defense authorities and meteorologists during hurricanes.

``Protect your life!'' exhorted one public service TV announcement, warning people not to cross rivers or go fishing or swimming in the ocean during the storm.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for the Isle of Youth, Pinar del Rio, Havana and Matanzas on the main island's northern coast. As much as a foot of rain was expected in many areas.

In Pinar del Rio, laborers worked to make sure water didn't leak into warehouses storing the tobacco leaves grown to make Cuba's famous cigars. Cattle and livestock in the rural region were moved to higher ground.

In Old Havana, housing officials were on the lookout for building collapses, common there when it rains. In Havana's Miramar neighborhood, just blocks away from the ocean, residents crisscrossed windows with masking tape.

In Florida, a full evacuation of the Keys was not expected, said Billy Wagner, Monroe County Emergency Management director. But officials began Wednesday to ask visitors in the lower Keys to leave just in case. Several storm shelters were to open in the Keys for people with special needs, those living in mobile homes and others at risk.

South of Cuba, a tropical storm warning was lifted for the Cayman Islands.

Tropical storms become hurricanes once their top sustained winds reach 74 mph. Irene is the sixth hurricane of the 1999 season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

AP-NY-10-14-99 2131EDT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hurricane Irene Approaching Cuba

By ALEX VEIGA

.c The Associated Press

MIAMI (Oct. 14, 99) - Hurricane Irene moved across the Caribbean today, sweeping bands of heavy rain across Cuba and into Florida as it drifted with top sustained winds of nearly 75 mph.

Hurricane warnings were posted for much of Cuba and a hurricane watch was issued for parts of the Florida Keys.

At 8 a.m. EDT, Irene was centered about 125 miles southwest of the Cuban capital of Havana. It was only barely moving but was expected to resume a slow northward track later in the day.

In Cuba, the hurricane warning covered the Pinar del Rio, Havana, Matanzas and the Isle of Youth. It was expected to bring a foot of rain to many areas.

In Florida, a hurricane watch was issued for the Lower and Middle Keys, including the Dry Tortugas islands, extending up to Craig Key. Heavy rain already was falling in the Miami area, causing a rash of traffic accidents during this morning's commute.

Forecasters said Irene could make landfall within 72 hours just north of Tampa, said John Guiney, hurricane forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

''But we don't want people focusing on that track because this storm will have effects felt in a wide area,'' he said. ''We still need all the folks in Florida to still be vigilant here, because this system will affect a great portion of the peninsula.''

Winds across south Florida were expected to rise, and Florida's southern coastal areas could experience winds of more than 39 mph, with higher gusts, by tonight.

A full evacuation of the Keys is not anticipated, said Billy Wagner, Monroe County Emergency Management director, but officials Wednesday began asking visitors in the lower Keys to leave just in case.

Several public storm shelters were to open in the Keys for people with special needs, those living in mobile homes and others at special risk.

A coastal flood watch was in effect for Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

To the south of Cuba, a tropical storm warning was lifted for the Cayman Islands.

Tropical storms become hurricanes once their top sustained winds reach 74 mph. Irene is the sixth hurricane of the 1999 season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, Guiney said.

AP-NY-10-14-99 0852EDT

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