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Hurricane Dennis slams into storm-scarred US coast

Posted on: Sunday, 10 July 2005, 14:54 CDT

By Marc Serota

PENSACOLA, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Dennis slammed into the Gulf Coast on Sunday with ferocious winds and waves that threatened huge destruction in an area still bearing scars from last year's storms.

The storm had weakened slightly since morning but still carried top winds of 120 mph (192 kph).

The hurricane's eyewall, the intense part of the storm around its center, swept ashore around mid-afternoon just east of Pensacola in northwest Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

After killing 32 people in Cuba and Haiti, Dennis roared northward into the Gulf of Mexico with powerful winds and a 10- to 15-foot (3-meter to 4.6-meter) storm surge that could swamp towns.

As it came ashore, Dennis was a Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, a hurricane with winds of up to 130 mph (208 kph) capable of causing serious damage.

This made it as strong as Hurricane Ivan, which killed 25 people, caused $14 billion in damages and destroyed or damaged 13 oil drilling platforms in the Gulf in September. Earlier Sunday, Dennis was a stronger Category 4 storm.

"These are really dangerous storms and the devastation that could take place is something that we've already seen," warned Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, brother of President Bush.

By 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), the center of the storm was about 20 miles east-southeast of Pensacola, heading roughly north at about 17 mph (27 kph), the hurricane center said. The storm's eyewall was coming ashore and its center was expected to cross the coast in the next hour or so.

Authorities in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi urged more than 1.2 million people in vulnerable low-lying areas to leave their homes and many heeded the warning Saturday.

'VERY SERIOUS STORM'

"We've deployed a lot of resources. We've pre-positioned medical, water, food, other kinds of supplies," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told ABC's "This Week."

"But people have to be braced for a very serious storm."

In Pensacola, emergency officials told residents who decided to ride out the storm at home to write their names in waterproof ink across their chests in case they were killed and needed to be identified, WFOR television reported.

"Well, I figured I could ride it out, but the latest news is a bit grim," Jimmy Redd said as he abandoned his home and trudged through squalls to the Pensacola Civic Center, which provided shelter for 2,500 people.

Smooth as glass a day before, Pensacola Bay on Sunday turned into a heaving 4- to 6-foot (1.2-meter to 1.8-meter) sea, washing over the bridges connecting the outlying barrier island and the Pensacola U.S. Naval Air Station to the mainland. Waves surged over the top of a 25-foot-high (7.6-meter-high) pier.

In Pensacola, where blue tarps still cover houses damaged by Ivan, forecasters warned Dennis could bring 15 inches (38 cm) of rain to the area where it makes landfall.

Energy companies pulled workers off oil rigs and shut down some crude and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, where the United States gets a quarter of its oil and gas.

Along the Gulf Coast, some people shuttered their houses with recycled boards bearing the words "Go Away Ivan."

Ivan was one of an unprecedented four hurricanes to hit Florida in a six-week period last year. Florida officials said 40,000 homes statewide were not fixed yet.

In coastal Alabama, mobile hurricane shelters were at capacity, with American Red Cross officials reporting that 87 shelters were open across the state to house 15,000.

"For the next few hours, it is going to be a very difficult time in the state of Alabama," Gov. Bob Riley said, "but we're going to have the supplies to get there and help."

Before heading north through the Gulf, Dennis brushed the popular tourist island of Key West on Florida's southern tip. State officials said around 100,000 houses and businesses were without power Sunday.

The hurricane hit Cuba on Friday with 150 mph (240 kph) winds and crumpled houses, uprooted trees and downed power lines. Ten people were killed in Cuba and 22 in Haiti. (Additional reporting by Cathy Donelson in Mobile, Michael Christie in Miami and Jennifer Portman in Tallahassee)

Source: REUTERS

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