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Forecasters fear hurricane Rita's strength
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-21 08:54 Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said more than 2,000 Florida National Guard troops and
dozens of law enforcement officers were ready to deal with the storm's
aftermath, although it appeared the Keys were spared the storm's full fury.
"I think we did, so far, dodge a bullet," said Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley.
A ocean wave crashes over a sightseer in Key
West, Fla. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005, as Hurricane Rita brushes past the
area. [AP] | Rita started the day as a tropical
storm with top sustained wind of 70 mph. But as it cruised through the Florida
Straits between the Keys and Cuba, it gathered energy from the warm sea,
becoming a Category 2 hurricane with top winds of 105 mph, the National
Hurricane Center said.
Bush received a briefing about Rita aboard the USS Iwo Jima, which is docked
near downtown New Orleans, as the hurricane caused new anxiety among Katrina
victims in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.
"There's still plenty of warm water that it needs to move over in the next
couple days. The forecast is favorable for further intensification," said
Michelle Mainelli, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.
Residents and visitors had been ordered out of the Keys, and voluntary
evacuation orders were posted for coastal mainland areas such as Miami Beach.
Some 130,000 people were evacuated in Cuba, on the southern side of the Florida
Straits.
Many of Key West's shops and bars were boarded up.
"This city was really very well prepared," said Jim
Gilleran, owner of the 801 Bar in the Old Town section of Key West. He kept his
business open despite the heavy rain and a power outage.
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