Hurricane Heavily Batters Florida

Hurricane Georges, both a persistent and lethal storm now blamed for more than 300 deaths in the Caribbean, barreled through the Florida Keys on Friday packing 100-mph winds that knocked out electricity, uprooted trees and swamped the Overseas Highway, cutting off the low-lying archipelago’s only land link to the mainland.

Long after the broad eye of the storm passed over Key West with a brief wink of sunshine just before noon, the fragile island chain continued to take a battering. As wind-whipped water spilled down the deserted streets and storm shutters banged and clattered, many of the thousands of residents who chose to ignore mandatory evacuation orders and ride out the hurricane began to have second thoughts.

“I really regret my decision now to stay,” Key West resident Tim Conrad told a local television station by telephone. “I wish I had gone to Broward County.”

In a house 150 yards from the ocean, Bob Green said he watched screaming winds lift shingles from his neighbors’ roofs and rip a wooden deck built around a tree next door. “Lots of trees are down, and the road is under water,” Green said. “We’ll have lots of work ahead of us.”

By night, no deaths or injuries had been reported in the Keys. But officials emphasized that the storm had not yet abated enough to allow them to have a look around and assess the damage.

For the Gulf Coast, however, the worst may be yet to come.

As the storm moved away from the Keys to the northwest, Georges immediately began to strengthen over the Gulf of Mexico, posing the possibility that it could once again become a major hurricane by the time it hits the Gulf Coast early Sunday.

“We don’t see any reason it shouldn’t strengthen,” said Max Mayfield, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center. “Atmospheric conditions are favorable.”

Of particular concern, Mayfield said, is the Louisiana coast and New Orleans, since two computers models take Georges on a track very close to the Crescent City. “That’s our biggest nightmare, of course,” said Mayfield of the flood-plain city too big to evacuate.

At 8 p.m., Georges’ maximum sustained winds were 105 mph, and the 300-mile-wide system was moving to the northwest at about 16 mph.

As hurricane warnings were posted in South Florida, a hurricane watch also was issued for 300 miles of coastline--from Morgan City, La., to St. Marks in the Florida Panhandle, where 180,000 residents were ordered to evacuate. All 11 casinos along the Mississippi coast were closed.

In the Tampa, Fla., area, officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for about 500,000 people living in flood-prone areas and mobile homes.

Tornado watches for more than a dozen Florida counties also were in effect.

President Clinton declared a state of emergency in Florida on Friday and authorized federal assistance even as Georges continued to rage. “We are as ready as we can be, and we pray that human and material cost will be limited,” he said.

Most of the Florida Keys, a 100-mile string of tiny islands that stretches west into the Gulf from the tip of the Florida peninsula, took a battering from Georges, both physically and economically. The storm scored the first direct hit on the islands since Hurricane Donna in 1960.

Throughout the islands, power lines dangled from tilted poles, shrubbery was shredded, signs knocked down. Scores of boats were washed aground, others sunk.

In Key West, damage was extensive. Rain water surged down Duval Street, the heart of the city’s shopping district, and washed over the sea wall in front of the famous marker proclaiming Key West as the southernmost point in the United States, just 90 miles from Cuba.

Nearby, huge, shallow-rooted ficus trees blocked roadways like fallen giants. Businesses were shuttered, and residents remained inside their homes.

Thousands of Keys residents who left the islands before the storm were told they may not be allowed to return until Sunday. The only vehicles permitted into the Keys on Friday were trucks filled with National Guard troops.

In Tavernier, officials reported a storm surge of 12 feet, well above maximum elevation.

In Key Largo, more than 150 guests and nearly all the staff were evacuated from the Westin Beach Resort. “It’s going to take us several days to get back up to speed,” said general manager Glenn Hoover. “We’ve got an awful lot of cleaning up to do.” He said the 200-room resort could reopen Monday.

On the mainland, damage was less severe, but the storm still exacted a toll. The small towns of Homestead and Florida City, all but wiped off the map by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, were littered with tree limbs as most residents hunkered down inside their homes.

In the Miami area, 200,000 homes were without power Friday as gusty winds and rain continued through the afternoon. The international airports at Miami and Fort Lauderdale were closed, as were schools and most businesses. Thousands of evacuees from the Keys planned for another night in emergency shelters.

Many Keys residents left home four days ago. “They tell us we won’t be able to get through for another 12 hours,” said Eddie Sikes, 48, who was stopped by a squadron of Florida Highway Patrol officers at a roadblock just south of Florida City, where the Florida mainland ends.

Sikes, a mechanic, said he and his wife, Bonnie, fled their Key West home Wednesday. “I’m sure our place took a direct hit,” he said. “But I wasn’t going to stay. I’m a conch [a Key West native], but I leave.”

Damage from Georges was minimal in greater Miami. “We’re all very fortunate we did not receive the brunt of this hurricane,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas. “Our prayers are with those who did.”

In the Caribbean, meanwhile, the death toll continued to climb. Haitian officials said at least 87 people have been confirmed dead, and more victims were anticipated. In the Dominican Republic, where more than 210 people died, President Leonel Fernandez declared a state of emergency and appealed for international assistance. At least 100,000 Dominicans were believed homeless.

In Puerto Rico, where most of the 3.8 million residents were still without power and water, 11 people were reported killed by the storm. Other deaths were confirmed in St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda.

In Cuba, three fatalities were linked to Georges’ march across the eastern half of the island Thursday. With more than 500,000 people in shelters, President Fidel Castro went on state-run television for the third straight day to urge Cubans to be on guard against winds and flooding. Electricity, water and telephone service were reported out in many areas.

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Times researcher Anna M. Virtue contributed to this story.

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Most Damaging Storms

Cosliest storms to hit mainland:

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Name Category year Cost in billions Andrew 4 1992 $30 Hugo 4 1989 8 Agnes 1 1972 8 Betsy 3 1965 7 Camille 5 1969 6

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Tracking the Storms

For more information, check the following websites:

www.nhc.noaa.gov/

www.fema.gov/fema/trop.htm

www.latimes.com

Damage Report

Deaths and damage caused by Hurricane Georges:

Florida: Extensive damage to trees, some structural damage in Keys, boats tossed ashore. No deaths or injuries reported immediately. At least 150,000 without power in Miami, Fort Lauderdale areas, plus uncounted others in Keys. Evacuation orders cover 1.4 million people throughout Florida.

Dominican Republic: 210 people reported dead. About 100,000 homeless. Seventy percent of bridges damaged, 90 percent of banana and other plantations destroyed. Damage to power grid tops $111 million. Heavy flooding in Santo Domingo and elsewhere.

Haiti: 87 deaths reported. Flooding in Port-au-Prince and along the northern coast around Cap-Haitien. Dozens of homes destroyed.

Cuba: Two deaths, according to Mexican news agency Notimex. Nearly 20,000 homes flooded in Holguin province. Damage to coffee, cacao and banana crops. Electricity knocked out in some areas. 200,000 people evacuated.

Puerto Rico: At least three killed directly by the storm, nine others by heart attacks and other health complications, 28,000 people in shelters.

U.S. Virgin Islands: Several injured, widespread damage to homes, hotels, shops, piers, 55 boats sunk. Widespread crop damage.