Two million without power in hurricane-lashed Florida

The centre of the eye of Hurricane Frances struck Florida’s east coast today with sustained winds of 105mph and lashing rain, knocking out power to two million people.

Floridians endured a frightening night amid roaring gales that shredded roofs and uprooted trees.

The National Hurricane Centre said the hurricane officially made landfall near Stuart, 110 miles north of Miami, about 1am local time (6am Irish time).

Transformers popped along streets, sending sparks into darkened skies, as families huddled in shelters, bathrooms and hotel lobbies. The wind-whipped coastal waters resembled a churning hot tub.

“I think I’m not going to sleep all night. I hate it at night-time,” said 64-year-old Vonda Gould, an evacuee who braved the storm at a Palm Bay hotel.

“We don’t know when something’s going to come flying through the window. It’s very spooky.”

In the largest evacuation in state history, 2.8 million residents were ordered inland and 70,000 residents and tourists moved into shelters.

The storm’s slow-motion assault – Frances crawled towards Florida at just 7mph - came more than a day later than predicted. The western portion of the hurricane’s eye crept over parts of the east-central Florida coast on Saturday night, but its strongest winds were expected to begin hitting later today.

Earlier, the storm buffeted the Bahamas, killing two people. The storm shattered windows, toppled power lines and flooded neighbourhoods, driving thousands from their homes. Freeport airport was partially submerged in water.

Frances’ arrival came three weeks after Hurricane Charley killed 27 people and caused billions of dollars in damage in south western Florida.

Frances is so big that virtually the entire state fears damage from wind and water. Forecasters said the storm would dump up to 20 inches of rain in some areas.

In Washington, President George Bush declared a major disaster in the counties affected by Frances, meaning residents will be eligible for federal aid.

Frances is expected to push across the state as a tropical storm just north of Tampa, weaken to a tropical depression and drench the Panhandle on Monday before moving into Alabama.