Hurricane Ike Sets Sights on Southeastern US
Tropical Storm Ike today became the fifth hurricane in the Atlantic this season as it was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Following on the heels of Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna, Ike is currently moving west over the west-central waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Gustav barreled into coastal Louisiana on Monday as a Category 2 hurricane, following one of the largest evacuations in U.S. history, and leaving massive power outages in its wake. Hanna briefly became the fourth Atlantic hurricane of the season before slamming with deadly force into Haiti, where scores of people have died in recent flooding.
Hanna was downgraded to a tropical storm Tuesday as it moved on over the southeastern Bahamas and it is growing larger, but not stronger, as it moves north. “A turn to the northwest with an increase in forward speed is expected over the next 24 hours,” the National Hurricane Center said. Hanna is expected to strike somewhere in the Southeastern U.S. on Friday, and is currently on course to hit the U.S. in Virginia.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist issued a state of emergency on Tuesday and officials in South Carolina and Georgia said they were monitoring the situation from operation centers. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said FEMA officials were already preparing should Hanna hit the East Coast.
Tags: Caribbean, Category 1, Category 2, Category 3, Charlie Crist, Gustav, Haiti, Hanna, Hurricane, Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Katrina, Ike, Katrina, National Hurricane Center, State of Emergency, Tropical Storm
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