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.

Some areas could get up to 15 inches of rain, the hurricane centre said. Skies darkened and rain poured as the outer bands of the storm moved ashore. Some streets were already flooding and emergency managers urged people to stay inside.

At 4 pm (8pm Irish time), Katrina was centred 25 miles east-northeast of Fort Lauderdale.

Fuelled by warm Gulfstream currents, Katrina’s top winds strengthened to 75mph, up from 40mph a day earlier and just over the 74mph threshold to become a hurricane, said hurricane centre director Max Mayfield.

Such hurricanes can damage flimsy trailer homes and strip leaves off trees but rarely cause structural damage. Emergency managers urged people to leave vulnerable islands and mobile home parks, but did not order mandatory evacuations.

Hurricane-weary residents topped off their gas tanks and bought bottled water but many were skipping the storm shutters this time around.

Wind is less of a concern for secured structures in Category 1 hurricanes, which have top sustained winds of 119km/h to 153km/h.

Carlos Sarcos, 48, of North Miami, said he would evacuate his family only if Katrina grew into a Category 3 storm, with winds of at least 179km/h.

“I don’t think it’s going to be dangerous,” he said.

Katrina’s top winds had reached 97km/h, up from 80km/h earlier in the day.

If the forecast holds, Katrina would be the second hurricane to hit the state this year - Dennis hit the Panhandle last month - and the sixth since August 13, 2004.