Ernesto Swirls To Miami As Weakened Tropical Storm

SHAKE AND BLOW

A UN soldier and residents stand before a flood-swollen river 29 August 2006 after the collapse of a bridge in Grand Goave, 54 km south of Port-au-Prince, following Tropical Storm Ernesto. Photo courtesy of Thony Belizaire and AFP.

by Patrick Moser
Miami FL (AFP) Aug 30, 2006
Exactly one year after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, residents of the southern United States heaved a sigh of relief Tuesday as Ernesto swirled toward Florida as a weak tropical storm.

After drenching Cuba, Tropical Storm Ernesto approached southern Florida where it was expected to make landfall late at night or early Wednesday.

Contrary to expectations, it did not strengthen after leaving the Cuban coast, and its maximum sustained winds reached only 72 kilometers (45 miles) per hour at 2100 GMT.

The most likely track had the storm sweeping over the Florida Keys chain of islands and blowing ashore in swampland southwest of Miami, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The storm would then travel along south Florida, head back out to sea and eventually come ashore again in South Carolina, possibly as a hurricane.

On Sunday Ernesto had strengthened into the first Atlantic hurricane of the year, before losing its punch Monday as it moved over mountainous areas of Cuba.

Experts initially feared Ernesto would hit Florida as a powerful hurricane packing the same intensity as Katrina, which killed 1,500 people after it slammed ashore near New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005.

The initial concern prompted Florida Governor Jeb Bush to declare a state of emergency, while visitors were ordered to leave the Florida Keys.

Schools shut down in some areas and several gas stations ran out of fuel after residents rushed to tank up their cars in case they need to evacuate.

NASA canceled the planned Tuesday blast-off of space shuttle Atlantis from Florida's Atlantic coast, but changed its mind about moving the shuttle to its hangar for protection as the storm outlook improved.

Ports in Miami and other areas of southern Florida shut down on Tuesday, and several flights were cancelled.

The northwestern islands of the Bahamas were also keeping a close eye on the storm.

At 2100 GMT, Tropical Storm Ernesto was located 165 kilometers (105 miles) south of Miami.

Local media in Haiti said the storm killed one person as it blew over the Caribbean island on Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Cuba, where people who fled to safety ahead of the storm started returning to their homes. Authorities said hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated before Ernesto hit Cuba.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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