Fay Chugs Across Gulf Coast

Death Toll Rises To 11 As Deadly Tropical Storm Moves Toward Miss., Ala.

(AP)  Fay just won't quit.

The tropical storm that set a record with four landfalls in Florida chugged west across the Gulf Coast on Saturday and cities from Pensacola to New Orleans prepared for several inches of rain.

Proving that a slow-moving tropical storm can be as deadly and damaging as a hurricane, Fay killed at least 11 people in Florida and one in Georgia, emergency officials said.

Thousands of homes and businesses were inundated with flood waters this week as the storm worked its way north from its first landfall in the Florida Keys and zigzagged across the peninsula.

Fay's center made its fourth landfall around 1 a.m. EDT Saturday about 15 miles north-northeast of Apalachicola, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Rains and strong wind gusts blitzed Tallahassee, the state capital, for more than 24 hours, knocking down trees and power lines and cutting electricity to more than 12,000 customers, city officials said.

At 8 p.m. EDT, the storm's center was about 35 miles northeast of Pensacola and moving west-northwest about 7 mph. Forecasters said Fay was weakening over land with maximum sustained winds near 40 mph but was still dumping heavy rain. The storm was expected to move over southern Alabama and Mississippi on Sunday.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the northeastern Gulf Coast from Suwanee River, Fla., west to the Alabama-Mississippi border, and storm surge flooding of two to four feet was possible.

Fay was expected to produce total rainfall of 6 to 12 inches through Sunday from western Florida all the way to eastern Louisiana.

The U.S. Coast Guard in Mobile, Ala., closed numerous ports and waterways between Panama City in Florida and the Alabama coast to the east.

In southwest Georgia, officials said a boy drowned Saturday while playing in a drainage ditch swollen by 10 to 12 inches of rain.

In Florida, as winds picked up and skies darkened along Pensacola Beach, Alex Davis took his morning jog. The longtime beach resident said he wasn't too worried.

"I doubt we'll see any flooding out here. The wind is starting to sting a little but that's about it," he said.

But emergency officials in low-lying cities in Fay's path weren't taking any chances.

In Alabama, officials opened shelters in the coastal counties of Mobile and Baldwin. Trucks capable of rescuing people from floodwaters were also in place, said Yasamie Richardson, spokeswoman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

In the New Orleans area, which is approaching the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, forecasts called for 1 to 3 inches of rain on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. In St. Bernard Parish, site of some of the worst post-Katrina flooding, emergency officials were handing out sandbags Saturday.

City officials in Slidell, La., where forecasters predicted 3 to 5 inches of rain could fall late Sunday and through Monday, said emergency vehicles had been fueled and workers were on call.

Sandbags were also distributed in Ocean Springs, Gulfport and Biloxi on the Mississippi coast. The Air Force Reserve's 403rd Wing evacuated aircraft Saturday from Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi to locations in South Florida and Texas. The 403rd includes planes known as "hurricane hunters" that officials said would be available to continue to monitor Fay.

The Gulf Islands National Seashore closed a campground area and four barrier islands to the public.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, R. David Paulison, visited the National Hurricane Center in Miami on Saturday to discuss concerns of flooding on the Gulf Coast if the storm continues to creep on its path, a FEMA spokeswoman said.

"The flooding is definitely something that we are monitoring and tracking and he was down there to see what kind of handle he could get on that," spokeswoman Mary Margaret Walker said.

The 11 people killed in Florida and one in Georgia bring the death toll from Fay to at least 35. A total of 23 died in Haiti and the Dominican Republic from flooding.

Fay's wake caused widespread flooding along Florida's east coast, especially in Jacksonville near the storm's third landfall.

The Office of Insurance Regulation reported Saturday that roughly 6,700 homeowners filed claims, although only some were because of flooding.

Gov. Charlie Crist has asked the federal government to declare the worst-hit areas major disaster areas.

Fay has been an unusual storm since it was named Aug. 15. After hitting the Keys Monday, it crossed open water again before hitting a second time near Naples on the southwest coast. It limped across the state, popped back out into the Atlantic Ocean and struck again near Flagler Beach on the central eastern coast. It was the first storm in almost 50 years to make three landfalls in the state as a tropical storm. Its fourth landfall as such was the first in recorded history.

"This is unprecedented in terms of the slow nature of this storm, the large circulation and the fact that it's impacted probably about 90 percent of the state with heavy rains and severe weather," state meteorologist Ben Nelson said.

[sweetjill1]

Sorry to disappoint you Vol but we are not ALL Republicans.

[messiahx4eve]

Hmmmmm, Florida & texass? Is there a connection? Thou Shalt Not Fix Elections? Mother Nature, the OTHER Deity.

[ubrew12]

My goodness, Fay!
Fish or cut bait!

[laurajenney-2009]

Fay''s Silver Lining for Jacksonville

As hard hit as the Jacksonville area has been impacted by Fay, those of us who live here have noticed one ''up side'' to Fay''s visit to the area... For several days there have not been the usual reports on the news on the outrageous average of 2 murders per day that are being committed these days in our city, families and friends are sticking close to one another, and neighbors are once again stepping up to help neighbors; like it used to be when Jacksonville was the great place to live that it once was. The ''pressure washing'' that Fay has given our city may prove yet to have been a good thing, if people here can hold on to the mind set of sticking together and helping one another as a community. It''s a shame that something bad has to hit our city to make that happen. Jacksonville, let''s consider Fay a wake up call, and take a positive step forward from here.

[hbevis]

Fay''''s Silver Lining for Jacksonville

As hard hit as the Jacksonville area has been impacted by Fay, those of us who live here have noticed one ''''up side'''' to Fay''''s visit to the area... For several days there have not been the usual reports on the news on the outrageous average of 2 murders per day that are being committed these days in our city, families and friends are sticking close to one another, and neighbors are once again stepping up to help neighbors; like it used to be when Jacksonville was the great place to live that it once was. The ''''pressure washing'''' that Fay has given our city may prove yet to have been a good thing, if people here can hold on to the mind set of sticking together and helping one another as a community. It''''s a shame that something bad has to hit our city to make that happen. Jacksonville, let''''s consider Fay a wake up call, and take a positive step forward from here.

Posted by LauraJenney at 07:36 PM : Aug 23, 2008

Here is something to do that will help 100% of the time, rain or shine. Make every house hold have some kind of weapons and the people know how to use them.