Rita Strengthens To Tropical Storm
Jeb Bush Declared State of Emergency, Potential For Hurricane
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Play CBS Video Video Florida Keys Evacuating A hurricane warning has been issued for the Florida Keys, and people there are evacuating after the mayor issued a state of emergency. Dave Malkoff, of CBS station WFOR, reports.
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The manager of a T-shirt shop in Key West arranges sandbags by the door, just in case Tropical Storm Rita comes to call. Katrina left his store with at least four inches of water on the floor. (AP)
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In this infrared satellite image, Tropical Storm Rita is shown positioned about 350 miles east, southeast of Nassau, Bahamas, at 6 p.m. Sunday. (AP Photo/NOAA)
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Jason Gray fills his car with gas in Holiday Isle, Fla. Sunday, after cutting his trip to Key West short as Tropical Storm Rita approached the Florida Keys. (AP)
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Interactive Hurricane Katrina Katrina's historic and deadly assault on the Gulf Coast: photo essays, how to help information, state-by-state damage and more.
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News Tools How To Help Organizations you may contact to give aid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
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Hundreds of motorcyclists were in the Keys for an annual event, but most were leaving Sunday, senior emergency management director Billy Wagner said.
County officials also urged residents of mobile homes to prepare for possible evacuation.
Michael Knowles, general manager of the Hampton Inn Resort in Key West, told his guests to leave Sunday but said he wasn't too worried about the latest weather system because it wasn't as strong as Katrina.
"These are like rehearsal drills for us," Knowles said. "I'm originally from the Bahamas so this is like my 25th hurricane."
Residents of South Florida and central and western Cuba also should closely monitor the system's progress, Brown said.
Katrina hit the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area last month as a Category 1 storm, killing 14 people and flooding some suburban and farming areas for days. The hurricane only caused minor damage in the Keys before destroying parts of Louisiana and Mississippi as a much stronger Category 4.
Hurricane Dennis brushed by the Keys in July, flooding some Key West streets, toppling trees and knocking out power. Dennis then struck a direct blow on the Florida Panhandle.
Katrina and Dennis were among six hurricanes to hit Florida in the last 13 months. Last year's four hurricanes killed dozens of people and caused $19 billion in insured losses in Florida alone.
Peak storm activity typically occurs from the end of August through mid-September. The season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
Farther out in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Philippe formed late Saturday well east of the Lesser Antilles. At 5 p.m., Philippe had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph, up 10 mph from Saturday. It was centered about 400 miles east of the Leeward Islands and was moving to the north-northwest near 8 mph.
Elsewhere, the 18th depression of the Atlantic hurricane season formed late Saturday east of the Turks and Caicos Islands late Saturday.
The previous storm, Ophelia, was headed to the north Atlantic Sunday after striking North Carolina and brushing Massachusetts and Nova Scotia.
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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