[Centraal] Orkaan Wilma (no 21) - The Beginning.

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Bron : CNN.com

Hurricane center: Deadly Wilma eyeing Florida
Category 5 storm prompts Keys evacuation


Jim Cox measures plywood to cover the windows of his realty business Wednesday in Islamorada, Florida.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005; Posted: 5:37 p.m. EDT (21:37 GMT)
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- If Hurricane Wilma hits Florida this weekend as predicted, it could result in many deaths and a tremendous storm surge, the nation's chief hurricane forecaster said Wednesday.

Officials ordered nonresidents in the Florida Keys to evacuate in advance of the storm -- which as of 5 p.m. ET was a dangerous Category 5 hurricane off Mexico.

"We had well over a thousand lives lost in Katrina," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

"If Wilma comes into the Florida coast as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane, that potential for large loss of life is with us here with this hurricane."

Forecasters said the storm -- with 160 mph (260 kph) sustained winds -- registered the lowest-recorded barometric pressure of any Atlantic basin hurricane -- an indication of its intensity. (Watch Mayfield's warning about Hurricane Wilma -- 3:19)

The hurricane center reported Wilma's barometric pressure Wednesday at 882 millibars -- below the 1988 record of 888 millibars set by Hurricane Gilbert. Storms with low barometric pressure are typically more intense.

A hurricane warning was in effect from San Felipe to Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula, including Cozumel, the hurricane center said.

The head of Haiti's civil protection agency, Maria Alta Jean-Baptiste, told The Associated Press the storm's outer bands caused flooding and landslides that killed at least 11 people since Monday and forced at least 2,000 families from their homes.

"The situation is not catastrophic, but if the rains pick up, it could become very difficult for some people," Jean-Baptiste told AP.

As a tropical depression, Wilma already had been blamed for one death in Jamaica on Sunday, AP reported.

Forecasters said southwest Florida could start feeling the effects of Wilma on Saturday.

"I will assure you that if this one makes landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida, there will be a tremendous storm surge," Mayfield said.

"And if it's a Category 4, we could easily have 15 to 20 feet near and south of where the center crosses the coast with up to even 25 feet up into the bays and the rivers."
Floridians stock up

Projections for Wilma's path suggest the storm may skirt the western tip of Cuba on Friday, possibly as a Category 4 storm with winds of greater than 130 mph, before curving eastward and heading toward the southwestern Florida coast.

In his 5 p.m. update, Mayfield emphasized the uncertainty in Wilma's long-term forecast, saying computer models had become more divergent over the course of the day.

In southwest Florida, residents stocked up on supplies. "I think since Katrina, everyone is more apprehensive about the situation as far as hurricanes go," Pat Schmidt, 74, told the AP while shopping at a Port Charlotte store.

Andrea Yerger, 48, of Port Charlotte, was buying material to protect her house in advance of Wilma. "People have learned their lesson and know better how to prepare," she told AP. "We're not waiting till the last minute anymore." (Full story)

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday the state will order evacuations in the coming days and has already begun to pre-stage relief supplies, such as ice and water.

Monroe County officials Wednesday ordered tourists to leave the Florida Keys beginning at noon, closed state parks and lifted the toll on the bridge that connects the Keys with mainland Florida.

Wilma strengthened on Wednesday within a matter of a few hours -- at 1 a.m. ET, the hurricane center reported the storm had 150 mph winds, taking it from a Category 2 to a Category 4. Just 90 minutes later, the center reported Wilma had maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and higher gusts.

As of 5 p.m. ET, the center of the storm was about 285 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. It was wobbling generally toward the west-northwest at nearly 7 mph and is expected to turn to the northwest during the next 24 hours, the hurricane center said.

Hurricane-force winds extended outward about 60 miles from the eye, and tropical-storm-force winds stretched up to 230 miles from the center.

Wilma is the third Category 5 storm this year, preceded by Hurricane Katrina, which killed a confirmed 1,250 people when it slammed into Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as a Category 4 storm on August 29, and Hurricane Rita, which hit Louisiana and Texas on September 24 as a Category 3. Nine deaths have been blamed on Rita.

Cuban hurricane watch
Cuba has issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Matanzas westward through Pinar del Rio and for the Isle of Youth, according to the hurricane center.

A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions, including winds of at least 74 mph, are possible within 36 hours. (Caribbean braces)

Cuban authorities have already evacuated residents in the eastern part of the country after the outer bands of Wilma dumped heavy rain as it passed south of the island.

The hurricane center said Cuba could get anywhere from 10 to 15 inches of rain from Wilma, with some areas getting socked with as much as 25 inches.

A stretch of the Honduran coast is under a tropical storm warning from the Nicaraguan border to Cabo Camaron -- as is Belize from the Mexican border to Belize City.

Additional rainfall accumulations of up to 10 inches, with up to 15 inches possible in some areas, are possible across the Cayman Islands and Jamaica through Thursday.

Pentagon prepares
Pentagon officials said Wednesday the Navy has placed three ships on standby to be called to duty if Wilma makes landfall in the United States.

In addition, officials said, Homestead Air Reserve Base, south of Miami, has been designated as a mobilization center for aid and equipment to be collected and distributed to the affected areas.

A defense coordination officer has been dispatched by the Pentagon to Tallahassee, the state capital, to work with state officials on coordination with the military if Wilma hits Florida.

The officials said the storm was still too far out to make any immediate plans or to evacuate bases. The closest military base to the storm, as of Wednesday, is Naval Air Station Key West, which has not yet been ordered to evacuate.

CNN's Chad Myers contributed to this report.

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Bron : Nu.nl
Mogelijk 250.000 Cubanen geėvacueerd voor komst Wilma

Uitgegeven: 19 oktober 2005 22:16
Laatst gewijzigd: 19 oktober 2005 23:51
HAVANA - Cuba bereidt de evacuatie voor van mogelijk meer dan 250.000 mensen uit de gebieden die worden bedreigd door de zeer gevaarlijke orkaan Wilma. Dat meldden de autoriteiten woensdag. Eerder waren op het Caribische eiland al ongeveer 9000 mensen in veiligheid gebracht.

Orkaan Wilma

De orkaan heeft geleid tot zware overstromingen in het oosten van Cuba, en bedreigt nu de westkust en het gebied rond de hoofdstad Havana met zware slagregens. Volgens de meteorlogische dienst op het communistische eiland is het niet waarschijnlijk dat de orkaan, die op volle zee windstoten van boven de 300 kilometer per uur veroorzaakt, het vasteland van Cuba zal raken.

Mexico

De Mexicaanse autoriteiten hebben woensdag opdracht gegeven voor de evacuatie van circa 33.000 toeristen uit Cancun, de eilanden Isla Mujeres en Holbox, en Punta Allen.

Alle hotelgasten in de betreffende plaatsen is verzocht huiswaarts te keren. De zware orkaan Wilma trekt naar verwachting de komende 24 uur tussen het Mexicaanse schiereiland Yucatan en Cuba door.

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Op woensdag 19 oktober 2005 20:18 schreef Hertog_Martin het volgende:
...WILMA WEAKENS SLIGHTLY...