Flooding fears raised as Hurricane Katrina gains strength over Florida

TROPICAL storm Katrina strengthened into a hurricane yesterday and deluged Florida’s densely populated south-east coast with rain, heightening fears of flooding.

The core of the storm was expected to hit the Fort Lauderdale area late yesterday or early today, dumping up to 10 inches of rain on southern Florida as it moved slowly across the state into the Gulf of Mexico, the US National Hurricane Center said.

“The entire south part of the peninsula is at risk for flooding,” said the centre’s deputy director Ed Rappaport.