Florida Braces for Hurricane Dennis as Storm Moves Toward Keys
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Residents of southern Florida began bracing for their first hurricane of the season as a strengthening Dennis, packing winds of 105 mph, moved toward Jamaica on a path that would reach the Keys by the weekend.
Dennis may intensify to a so-called major hurricane, meaning it will have winds stronger than 111 mph (179 kph) by the time it reaches Florida. That would make it a Category 3 storm, capable of destroying mobile homes and forcing the evacuation of low-lying areas within several blocks of the shoreline.
A storm-weary southern U.S., particularly Florida, is still recovering and rebuilding after a devastating storm season last year. A record four hurricanes -- Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne -- hit land in the state and caused almost $23 billion in property damage.
``Dennis is looking more and more ominous as the forecasts come in,'' said Guy Gleichmann, president of United Strategic Investors Group, an equity and futures brokerage firm in Hollywood, Florida. ``There are some structures still under repair from Ivan. It's like hitting a wounded animal.''
Dennis was about 80 miles (129 kilometers) east of Kingston, Jamaica, as of 11 a.m. New York time and about 155 miles south of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, heading northwest at about 13 mph, forecasters said. Hurricane-force winds extend as far as 25 miles from the center and tropical-storm force winds as far as 125 miles.
The center's five-day forecast shows Dennis's center traveling a path over eastern Jamaica, western Cuba and into the Gulf toward Louisiana and Alabama by July 9. The storm may make landfall in the Florida Panhandle between July 10 and 11.
``This is way early to be hit by these storms,'' Gleichmann said in a telephone interview. ``There are plenty of other storms to worry about.''
Flash Floods, Mudslides
The hurricane is forecast to produce as much as 20 inches of rain in isolated mountainous areas of Jamaica, which may cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, hurricane specialists Richard Knabb and Richard Pasch said in a bulletin posted on the Miami-based National Hurricane Center's Web site.
A hurricane watch is in effect for all of the Florida Keys and Florida Bay, while a tropical storm watch was issued for all of southern Florida south of Golden Beach on the East Coast and south of Bonita Beach on the West Coast, the Miami-based center said in an advisory.
Hurricane warnings mean that winds of more than 73 mph are expected within the next 24 hours, and a watch indicates winds of that speed are possible within 36 hours. Tropical storm warnings mean that winds of 39 mph to 72 mph are expected within the next day, while a watch indicates winds of that speed are possible in 36 hours.
Jamaica, Cayman Islands
Hurricane warnings are also in effect for all of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, and parts of central and eastern Cuba. Air Jamaica canceled all of its flights to and from Jamaica today because of the storm, the company said in a statement.
Dennis is currently a Category 2 storm on the five-tier Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, meaning it has winds of 96 mph to 110 mph. Such storms are capable of producing a storm surge of as much as 6 feet above normal and can cause coastal flooding and damage to trees, piers and unanchored mobile homes.
Dennis follows closely behind Tropical Storm Cindy, which brought rain and wind to the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Cindy downed trees and power lines, cutting power to 318,000, and forced oil and gas companies to evacuate platforms and rigs.
Dennis is the fourth named storm of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, its earliest start ever. Dennis became a Category 1 hurricane yesterday as winds climbed to about 85 mph from about 70 mph.
``If Dennis remains mostly over water it could easily strengthen more than indicated here,'' Knabb and Pasch wrote in a statement.
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