Gulf Coast Braces For Georges

After a bruising collision with the Florida Keys, Hurricane Georges gathered force in the Gulf heading toward landfall on Sunday.

Rain is already falling ahead of the storm, and parts of the central Gulf Coast could get more than two feet of rain. Many in New Orleans took the mayor's advice and left the city, which is mostly below sea-level. Traffic is snarled as residents head north, and the Superdome has been opened allowing people to take shelter during the storm.

Forecasters predicted Hurricane Georges would begin lashing the Gulf Coast with hurricane force winds Sunday, and more than a million residents have been told to evacuate.

Hurricane warnings were posted along 330 miles of coast from Morgan City, La., to Panama City, Fla. Hurricane watches were posted on the flanks of the warning area east to St. Marks, Fla., and west to Intracoastal City, La.

"This is kind of like looking down the barrel of a shotgun and hoping it turns," said Louisiana State Police Lt. Col. Ronnie Jones.

Georges ripped slowly but furiously through the Caribbean, killing more than 300 people before it smashed into the Florida Keys with winds over 100 mph.

Forecasters said Sunday the storm may strengthen before it makes landfall, pushing tides up to 15 feet above normal.

While New Orleans is protected by 130 miles of levees, city officials worried that Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas could spill over their banks and send flood waters into the city and its suburbs.

In the dawn hours on Sunday, Georges was centered about 200 miles southeast of New Orleans, moving northwest at 10 mph with 110 mph winds.

President Clinton has declared a state of emergency, making Florida eligible for federal assistance.

The hurricane had spared Florida's east coast, including Miami.

In Louisiana and Mississippi, voluntary evacuations of the coast took place on Saturday. New Orleans officials, with part of their city built behind bulwarks that shield "below sea-level" neighborhoods, were especially vigilant. Despite the dire predictions for the Gulf Coast, revelers still raised their drinks along Bourbon Street early Sunday morning.

Earlier, Alabama Gov. Fob James declared a state of emergency in his state as Hurricane Georges surged toward the northern Gulf Coast.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued for tourists and residents on the Gulf beaches in Baldwin County, a spokesman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency said.

After barreling through the Caribbean and leaving a path of destruction that included at least 300 deaths, Hurricane Georges pounded the Keys Friday with 105 mph winds that sent waves crashing onto streets and knocked out power.

Through much of the necklace of islands on Saturday, lights remained off as line crews struggled to restore "feeder lines" stretching from plants to the north.

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Cleared by the evacuations, the normally busy Key West downtown was empty: only a few cars ventured onto Duval Street, usually the hub of tourist activity. Electrical transformers boomed as they blew out.

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Property damage was widespread. "The coconuts were like cannonballs blowing in the wind," said Davin Kusik, who lives in a mobile home park on Cudjoe Key. Parts of the chain of islands were expected to be without water and electricity until at least Monday.

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