Parts of Florida are inching back towards normality with workers restoring power, clearing roads and replenishing fuel supplies, even as teams scour the southernmost islands and authorities warn of mass devastation.

A bank clerk was kidnapped from his home today by robbers who strapped a suspected bomb to his chest and forced him to help them steal money from a bank in Miami, the FBI said.

Some residents of the Florida Keys were rethinking their refusal to evacuate for Hurricane Wilma today after the storm isolated them, submerged streets under water up to 5 feet deep and turned out their lights.

Hurricane Rita strengthened to a dangerous Category 3 storm early today, sparing the Florida Keys but prompting mandatory orders to once again evacuate New Orleans as well as the Texas city of Galveston.

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 3 storm with 115 mph winds early today after lashing the Florida Keys and sparking anxiety as it headed into the Gulf of Mexico.