Gov. Bush Declares State Of Emergency
National Guard Activated As Charley Approaches
POSTED: 9:18 am EDT August 11, 2004
UPDATED: 6:36 pm EDT August 11, 2004
MIAMI -- Florida officials are telling visitors to leave parts of the Florida Keys as Hurricane Charley approaches.
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Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency Wednesday for the entire state, and he's activated the National Guard and said evacuations may grow.
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Gulf Coast Braces For Storms
Emergency officials in the Keys are urging visitors to leave the parts of the island chain under a hurricane watch. Residents aren't being told to leave. Evacuation of the chain can take hours because there's only one road out.
The manager of a hotel in Key West said she's telling visitors to leave but plans to stay put. She said Charley "isn't a big one."
The tropical storm strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday afternoon. The hurricane has top sustained winds of 75 mph and is expected to get stronger.
Bonnie Takes Aim At Panhandle
There's now a tropical storm warning posted for the Florida Gulf coast from the Alabama state line eastward to the Suwannee River, ahead of Tropical Storm Bonnie.
There's also a hurricane watch in effect for the same area. Forecasters said Bonnie is getting better organized as its forward speed increases just a bit.
Bonnie is now centered about 205 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Movement is to the north-northeast at 12 mph, with an increase in forward speed expected later Wednesday. A turn more to the northeast is also expected.
The storm has winds of 65 mph. Forecasters look for that to increase a bit, and tropical storm-force winds now extend out 70 miles from center.
Experts now think Bonnie could reach hurricane strength before landfall Thursday -- reconnaissance aircraft said a small eye may be forming. But they also look for the system to face some shearing just before landfall. There is also some indication Bonnie could make a sharp turn to the east-northeast just before landfall, thanks to surrounding weather.
Recent heavy rainfall over the Florida Panhandle has saturated the ground. Additional rainfall accumulations of 4 to 6 inches can be expected with isolated higher amounts.
At Fort Walton Beach, high winds and high surf caused officials to urge people to prepare for a hurricane. Boats have toppled over, and a red flag warning was issued.
In Panama City, the city's streets are deserted as businesses and government workers busily prepare for the storms. Marina workers have been hauling private boats out of the water and securing them on land.
"We started yesterday at 5 a.m., and we worked until late yesterday afternoon," said marina owner Johnny Morris. "We'll be here until late this afternoon.
Already, Panama City has received enough rain to cause some streets to flood. Emergency managers said rain, not high winds, is their big worry.
"Our main concern with this system is the amount of rainfall that may come with it. We've had some pretty significant rainfall over the last 24 hours, and we think we're going to continue to see rain throughout today," said emergency services chief Robert Majka.
A private zoo owner is removing smaller animals and putting them in a more secure location.
Throughout the Panhandle, grocery stores are doing brisk business -- even in Tallahassee, which is about 35 miles inland.
Greg Wilson said he has a plan for his family in case the storm knocks out power to his house. He loaded up on bottled water, snacks and batteries Wednesday.
Wilson said his teenage sons will appreciate the snack food if they get stuck playing board games by the light of a flashlight.
Many Residents Take Storms In Stride
On Alligator Point, an area carved by the Gulf of Mexico, county road-workers scrambled to install rock and sand jetties where homes once stood. Some of those houses were washed into the Gulf by past storms.
Oscar Sanders has been building barriers for 25 years. He said workers construct them to try to hold off some of the waves that are caused by storms. He said many of his barriers have been washed away over the years, but the roads have almost always remained safe.
"I've always heard about the Florida hurricane season, but I tell you, I am worried," said Lisa Tucker, who recently moved to Apalachicola from Atlanta.
However, many long-time residents said they aren't too worried about the approaching tropical storm.
"It looks like the wind speeds are fairly low, and I'm not particularly concerned about it," said Guyte McCord.
Schools And Government Offices Close In Advance Of Storms
Public schools will be closed Thursday in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Walton and Washington counties because of Bonnie. Monroe County schools, which are in the the Florida Keys, will be closed Thursday and Friday because of Charley. The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine also closed.
Liberty County local government offices and the Calhoun County courthouse will also be closed on Thursday.
Peanut Growers Welcome Storms
Not everyone is fearing the wrath of the coming storms. Georgia peanut growers, plagued by weeks of dry weather at a critical time in their crop's development, said they welcome the storms and hope they bring enough rainfall to sustain their underground legumes until next month's harvest.
Don Koehler, the executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission, said he's not worried about the storms causing problems. He said growers would have been in a "disaster situation" if they had gone another 10 days without rain.
Growers hope, of course, that the region is spared from the devastation caused in July 1994 when Tropical Storm Alberto stalled over Georgia and dumped nearly two feet of water in 24 hours. Flooding along the Flint and Ocmulgee rivers left 31 dead, forced thousands from their homes and caused millions of dollars in property damage.
Double Dose Of Storms Surprise Experts
Officials Try To Coordinate Plans Across State
POSTED: 6:05 pm EDT August 11, 2004
UPDATED: 6:55 pm EDT August 11, 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- State officials are scrambling to stay on top of this constantly changing weather situation. Even the experts said they are surprised to be dealing with two storms at once.
Florida State University meteorology professor T. Krishnamurti said this is the first time he can remember Florida being in the crosshairs of two storms at the same time, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.
"You do get a lot of surprises, almost always. When you go back to Andrew, that was something else," he said. "Ever since then, we saw many years of hurricanes and, I mean, this is unusual, definitely very different."
The double whammy is also affecting operations at the state Emergency Management Center, which is coordinating plans in two parts of the state at once.
The operations center pulls staff from all of Florida's agencies, including the departments of health, transportation, and the National Guard, to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Craig Fugate, the director of Florida Emergency Management, said it has become a challenge with evacuations possible for much of the state.
"It means we're having to set up conference calls for one storm with one group in the state, and then another conference call with the other part of the state," he said. "Then there are counties that are actually overlapping."
Florida officials faced similar challenges when several parts of the state were affected during the 1998 wildfire season. Officials said this double dose of storms could put a lot of those lessons learned to the test.
Until the hurricane warnings go into effect for Charlie, the center will remain at Level 2 activation. Then it will kick into Level 1, which means around-the-clock mobilization until the danger has passed. The levels refer to staffing levels, and currently, officials said they are trying to keep state employees fresh for the expected long days ahead.