Storm on path to slam Florida
Source: Agencies |
July 24, 2010, Saturday
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TROPICAL storm Bonnie lashed the central Bahamas and churned toward the Florida Keys yesterday on a course that is expected to cross over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill site.
Rain and lightning raked the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas on Thursday, and forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm could reach the Gulf today.
Early yesterday, Bonnie had maximum sustained winds 65 kph, and was centered about 250 kilometers southeast of Miami.
The center of Bonnie was expected to pass near or over the Florida Keys late yesterday and part of the southern Florida peninsula. US forecasters said the storm could get stronger over the next 48 hours.
Captain Stephen Russell, director of the Bahamian National Emergency Management Agency, said there were no reports of major damage, flooding or injuries on islands in the southeastern and central Bahamas. The storm wasn't yet clear of the most heavily populated islands in the northeast, including New Providence and Grand Bahama.
"We are advising everyone to remain vigilant throughout the night and early morning," Russell said.
As the storm advanced on Thursday, people stocked up on water and food in the southern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, island chains that are well-accustomed to rough weather.
Donna Musgrove, a businesswoman in Providenciales, said some streets were flooded. "It's raining from one end of the island to the other," she said. "The skies are completely dark."
The storm did not pose a threat to tourist resorts in the islands.
Tourist Ezra Uzzel, 45, of North Carolina, said he would not cut short his two-week vacation in the Turks and Caicos.
"This if our third day, and if the reports are right, by the weekend we should have good weather again," he said.
Residents in the southeastern Bahamas endured heavy rains and copious lightning, but no damages or injuries had been reported.
A tropical storm warning was issued for the central and northwestern Bahamas, for Florida's east coast south of Deerfield Beach, the entire Florida Keys up the western coast to Englewood.
The system was expected to bring heavy winds and rains to the Florida Keys in the next few days, but emergency officials said they were not planning any mandatory evacuations.
As a precaution, storm shelters will open for tourists and residents who live on boats or have special needs.
In the Dominican Republic, where roughly 1,500 people were evacuated, rice fields were destroyed and 14 communities left isolated after bridges collapsed.
A 14-year-old boy died in Puerto Rico on Sunday after drowning in a swollen river.
Rain and lightning raked the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas on Thursday, and forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm could reach the Gulf today.
Early yesterday, Bonnie had maximum sustained winds 65 kph, and was centered about 250 kilometers southeast of Miami.
The center of Bonnie was expected to pass near or over the Florida Keys late yesterday and part of the southern Florida peninsula. US forecasters said the storm could get stronger over the next 48 hours.
Captain Stephen Russell, director of the Bahamian National Emergency Management Agency, said there were no reports of major damage, flooding or injuries on islands in the southeastern and central Bahamas. The storm wasn't yet clear of the most heavily populated islands in the northeast, including New Providence and Grand Bahama.
"We are advising everyone to remain vigilant throughout the night and early morning," Russell said.
As the storm advanced on Thursday, people stocked up on water and food in the southern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, island chains that are well-accustomed to rough weather.
Donna Musgrove, a businesswoman in Providenciales, said some streets were flooded. "It's raining from one end of the island to the other," she said. "The skies are completely dark."
The storm did not pose a threat to tourist resorts in the islands.
Tourist Ezra Uzzel, 45, of North Carolina, said he would not cut short his two-week vacation in the Turks and Caicos.
"This if our third day, and if the reports are right, by the weekend we should have good weather again," he said.
Residents in the southeastern Bahamas endured heavy rains and copious lightning, but no damages or injuries had been reported.
A tropical storm warning was issued for the central and northwestern Bahamas, for Florida's east coast south of Deerfield Beach, the entire Florida Keys up the western coast to Englewood.
The system was expected to bring heavy winds and rains to the Florida Keys in the next few days, but emergency officials said they were not planning any mandatory evacuations.
As a precaution, storm shelters will open for tourists and residents who live on boats or have special needs.
In the Dominican Republic, where roughly 1,500 people were evacuated, rice fields were destroyed and 14 communities left isolated after bridges collapsed.
A 14-year-old boy died in Puerto Rico on Sunday after drowning in a swollen river.
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