Three Million Told to Flee As Jeanne Hurtles Toward Flordia. Would Be State's 4th Hurricane of Season. Hurricane Jeanne got stronger, bigger and
faster Saturday, forcing anxious Floridians to hurriedly shutter their homes and buy last-minute supplies as the storm bore down on the state's
Atlantic coast with winds near 115 mph. Three million people were told to evacuate.
abcnews.go.com
If it hits Florida late Saturday or Sunday as predicted, it would be the fourth hurricane to slam the state this season, a scenario unmatched in more
than a century. Jeanne strengthened into a Category 3 storm Saturday, and Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in
Miami, warned that a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 131 mph "is not out of the question."
Already blamed for more than 1,500 deaths in Haiti, according to Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, Jeanne was poised to slam some of the same
areas hit by the earlier storms, potentially transforming still-uncleared piles of debris into deadly missiles. Meteorologists said the storm's outer
bands could bring wind and heavy rain to Florida by Saturday afternoon and its expected northern turn could happen after the storm strikes land,
sending Jeanne up and through east and central Florida.
No state has been struck by four hurricanes in one season since Texas in 1886. Jeanne could turn into the latest in a devastating chain of hurricanes
that have rattled southwest and central Florida (Charley), the state's midsection (Frances) and Florida's Panhandle (Ivan). Combined, the storms
have caused billions of dollars of damage and at least 70 deaths in Florida.
Gov. Jeb Bush warned that Jeanne could be stronger than Frances, which caused more $4.1 billion in insured damages in Florida and killed at least 24.
He referenced the destruction of Ivan, which devastated barrier islands in the Panhandle and killed at least 23.
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Diane Hicks, right, adds Jeanne to the list of Hurricanes that have hit Florida as she and Danny Lee board up the windows of their business in
Satellite Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 24, 2004. They have had to board up their windows, and then remove them, for four hurricanes this season.
Hurricane Jeanne is expected to make landfall on the eastern Florida coast this weekend.
What more does this state have to go through?
This hurricane season has been on of the worst ones for Flordia, and their residents.
Crews with heavy machinery worked Friday to clear the mess of flattened homes, torn roofs and snapped trees left by Frances. But many acknowledged it
was a losing battle.
The debris will only make things worse, the winds will pick it up, and toss it around, sending it into cars, houses, whatever it can.
After its expected northward turn over the Florida peninsula, Jeanne was expected to stay inland over Georgia and the Carolinas through Tuesday.
The timing of the storm raised concern for Jews observing Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, which ends at sundown Saturday. During
that period, observant Jews usually do not work, carry cash or travel by car, all of which could hamper hurricane preparations. Many of them aren't
evacuating, which could turn out to be a move for the worst.
[edit on 25-9-2004 by John bull 1]