5 Electrocuted as Hurricane Irene Drenches S. Florida

Hurricane Irene unloaded up to 18 inches of rain on Florida, flooding the streets of Miami, stalling cars and knocking out power to 1.4 million people Friday. Five pedestrians were electrocuted by downed power lines.

With winds of 75 mph, Irene was a relatively weak hurricane, but its heavy rain and sluggish pace made it a menace. And forecasters warned it was on a path that could bring more misery to flood-ravaged North Carolina.

Scattered flooding was reported in a 200-mile area from Key West to West Palm Beach. In Miami, police listed at least 65 streets, including major intersections, with flood waters at least 6 inches deep.

In neighboring Broward County, where streets also had 2 to 6 inches of water, three teenagers and a woman in her 50s were electrocuted in an intersection after a power line fell, said Broward County Fire Rescue spokesman Todd LeDuc. Minutes later a child was electrocuted in another part of the county.

“We’ve been giving out the message all day that you need to stay inside,” LeDuc said. “This is not the time to do damage assessment. We have lines down throughout the county.”

Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas urged employers to let workers go home early to ease traffic. “It’s like a permanent high tide.”

The flood waters left cars stalled in the streets and thwarted drivers’ attempts to get home. Officials said 18 inches of rain fell Friday.

Michael LaCombe, 21, was trying to drive from his job in Miami to his home 12 miles north in Aventura when his car conked out. “This is ridiculous,” a soaked LaCombe said after pushing his car out of shin-deep water. “I should have called in sick.”

The storm moved through the Florida Keys and rolled ashore Friday afternoon near Cape Sable, 75 miles southwest of Miami.

At 11 p.m., it was about 25 miles southwest of West Palm Beach, moving north-northeast about 13 mph. It was expected to maintain that motion before leaving the state on the east coast near Cape Canaveral sometime today.

Before striking Florida, Irene drenched Cuba’s tobacco fields and collapsed buildings in Havana, where at least two people were killed.

In Florida, 1.4 million people lost power with no hope of getting it restored until sometime today, Florida Power & Light Co. said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami had to switch to backup generators when the power went out for about 30 seconds and blacked out computer screens. It took about 90 minutes to restart all the computers, but forecasters were able to get the data they needed from Kansas City, Mo., and Washington.

Miami International Airport shut down at 6 p.m. EDT. Most airlines suspended service to South Florida until at least this afternoon. The University of Miami closed its campus. High school football games were postponed, as were two $400,000 thoroughbred races scheduled for today at Calder Race Course.

Forecasters said they expected Irene to push into the Atlantic Ocean and then head inland again near the Georgia-South Carolina line. Heavy rain was a possibility across North Carolina, which is still recovering from Hurricane Floyd.

“Certainly it’s too early to panic,” said Tom Hegele, of the North Carolina emergency management agency.

Hurricane Floyd dumped 20 inches of rain on eastern North Carolina last month, killing at least 49 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.