Hurricane Heads Up Coast as S. Florida Battens Down : 60-M.P.H. Winds Seen for Miami

Hurricane Floyd sprang to life in the Gulf of Mexico early today, taking aim on South Florida with 80-m.p.h. winds and heavy rain. Some coastal residents scurried for shelter, while others cleared stores of batteries, canned food and bottled water.

Floyd grew from a tropical storm to become the season’s third hurricane at 8 a.m. and began heading up through the Florida Keys toward southern Dade County at the southern tip of the mainland, spawning at least two tornadoes.

The National Hurricane Center posted hurricane warnings around Florida’s southern peninsula from Stuart north of West Palm Beach on the condominium-studded east coast to Venice north of Fort Myers on the gulf coast, roughly the area from Lake Okechobee south.

Officials of populous Dade and Broward counties, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale, told residents to tie down loose objects in their yards and advised trailer park residents to seek shelter.

Schools Shut Down

County officials in South Florida had shut down all schools by mid-morning, telephoning parents and sending the children home.

“We don’t want to alarm people, but we could have winds of 50 to 60 m.p.h.,” Dade County Manager Sergio Pereira said.

“It’s not a strong hurricane,” National Hurricane Center Director Bob Sheets said. “We don’t expect it to get much worse.”

At 3 p.m. local time, Floyd’s poorly defined center was estimated at latitude 24.8 degrees north and longitude 81.2 degrees west, 90 miles southwest of Miami. The storm was heading east-northeast at 15 m.p.h.

Eye Passes Over Key West

The storm’s central eye passed directly over Key West between noon and 1 p.m., bringing a brief and eerie calm to the island, and began heading up the Overseas Highway that strings the keys together.

Unimpressed Key West youngsters took advantage of the wind to turn skateboards into sailboards with the help of towel sails. Surf blasted over the seaside monument marking the southernmost point of the continental United States.

“The water is not flowing off the island, it’s all flowing in,” Key West Councilwoman Sally Lewis said. “It’s really very dramatic.”

A hurricane-spawned tornado hit Key Largo, knocking out electrical power and causing $100,000 damage to boats, trailers and mobile homes. Another touched down in extreme southern Dade County. No injuries were reported.

Lines of cars, their lights glowing dimly through torrential rain, headed inland from Naples on the southwest gulf coast, while emergency shelters began filling with residents of trailer parks and barrier islands in danger of flooding.

‘Trying to Keep Traffic Flowing’

“We’re just trying to keep the traffic flowing from outlying areas like Marco Island,” Collier County Sheriff’s Lt. Acey Edgemon said.

Almost all stores in Naples boarded up their windows and shut down after doing a booming business in batteries, canned food and bottled water. Only a drive-in liquor store remained open on one block, and sales were brisk.

North of Naples in Fort Myers, high wind cut power lines, leaving the Lee County Sheriff’s Department in the dark but still answering emergency calls, Deputy Chuck Zimmerman said.

Everglades National Park was shut down Sunday night and park personnel headed for high land, said Sue Haley, a park spokeswoman. She said the storm should not threaten wildlife.

Rangers and boaters took shelter at the Civil War-era Fort Jefferson, 65 miles west of Key West in the Dry Tortugas, which was battered Monday morning by 50- to 60-m.p.h. winds.

On Sunday, Floyd skirted the western edge of Cuba with 60-m.p.h. wind and rain, forcing as many as 100,000 Cubans to flee their homes in the western province of Pinar del Rio.