Following Gustav a Trio of Storms to Hit
As Gustav faded, Hanna, the first of three new tropical storms, is making its way up the Atlantic and is expected to make landfall somewhere from Florida to North Carolina before Friday evening, forecasters said.
Hanna could come ashore as a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of 80 to 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Florida Governor. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency Tuesday to get the state ready for Hanna, The Associated Press reported. Florida could get flash floods and wind gusts of up to 111 mph, he said.
At 8 p.m. ET, Hanna was 65 miles southeast of Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas, the hurricane center said. It was moving slowly toward the east but was expected to strengthen and move to toward the northwest on Wednesday.
Following Hanna is Tropical Storm Ike, which formed Monday, and is forecast to cross into the Caribbean as a hurricane on Saturday or Sunday. Ike is heading toward the Caribbean at 17 mph with top wind speeds of 65 mph, the hurricane center said at 5 p.m. ET.
Behind Ike is Tropical Storm Josephine, which formed Tuesday with top winds near 50 mph, the hurricane center said at 5 p.m. ET. Josephine is about 125 miles southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands off the coast of western Africa.
Ike is moving west-northwest near 14 mph and is expected to be near hurricane strength on Wednesday or Thursday -- although the storm will still be far from landfall.
Hanna caused severe flooding in Haiti's port city of Gonaives, and rescue efforts have been hampered because of flooded bridges and roads, some of which were already washed out by Hurricane Gustav last week, a local official said. Authorities said the storm killed 10 people in Haiti, The Associated Press reported.
Published on September 3, 2008
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