11:19 25Sep2004 Hurricane Jeanne nears Bahamas, threatens Florida

MIAMI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Deadly Hurricane Jeanne was closing in on the
northern Bahamas on Saturday on its way to deliver yet another hit on
Florida, already buffeted by three hurricanes in the past six weeks.
Hundreds of thousands of people on Florida's east coast were told to
leave their homes again in anticipation of the storm, which may have killed
up to 2,000 people when it caused devastating floods in Haiti last weekend.
Jeanne was strengthening on Saturday on its westward journey through the
Atlantic Ocean, with top sustained winds reaching 105 mph (170 kph) from 100
mph (160 kph) on Friday night.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was expected to
grow stronger in the next 24 hours "and will likely become a major hurricane
later today."
The storm was forecast to move over the Bahamas' Abaco Islands in the
next few hours and approach the southeastern coast of Florida on Saturday
night or early on Sunday, threatening an area pummelled by Hurricane Frances
just three weeks ago.
If Jeanne slams into Florida, it will be the first time since
record-keeping began in 1851 the state has been hit by four hurricanes in
one season, the hurricane centre said.
At 5 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Saturday, the center of Jeanne was near latitude
26.5 north and longitude 76.2 west, about 55 miles (90 km) east of Great
Abaco Island in the northwestern Bahamas and 240 miles (385 km) east of the
southeast coast of Florida. The storm was moving toward the west near 14 mph
(22 kph).
A hurricane warning, meaning residents should prepare for hurricane
conditions in 24 hours, was in effect along the Florida east coast from
Florida City northward to St. Augustine. A hurricane warning was also in
effect for the northwestern Bahamas, including the Abacos, Grand Bahama
Island and New Providence, which includes the capital, Nassau.
A hurricane watch remained in effect for the northeast Florida and
Georgia coasts from north of St. Augustine to Altamaha Sound, Georgia, and a
tropical storm warning was in effect on the west coast of Florida from East
Cape Sable northward to Anclote Key.

'WE CANNOT BE COMPLACENT'
Authorities in more than a dozen Florida counties, including the
populous southeast urban area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, urged
residents to leave vulnerable coastal areas such as barrier islands and
mobile homes that could be ripped apart.
"We cannot be complacent, I know there's been a lot of issues about
hurricane fatigue," Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas said after
acknowledging people were tired of having to put up shutters and spend their
days listening to television and radio. "We must be prepared."
Much of Florida, the fourth most populous state, with a population of 17
million, is still stunned after an extremely rare series of three
hurricanes -- Charley, Frances and Ivan -- since Aug. 13 that caused tens of
billions of dollars in losses and hammered sectors such as the citrus
industry and tourism.
Some 280,000 people were told to leave their homes in Miami-Dade and
Broward counties and hundreds of thousands more were urged to evacuate along
the coast.
In the Bahamas, a 700-island chain with a population of 300,000,
residents of Grand Bahama and Abaco islands, both still recovering from the
ravages of Frances three weeks ago, packed into shelters as the storm
loomed.
Silbert Mills, chairman of Abaco's disaster preparedness committee, said
there was a feeling of "ubiquitous melancholy" on the island in the face of
the approaching storm.


Saturday, 25 September 2004 11:19:47RTRS [nN25364875] {C}ENDS