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Posted: Friday, 05 September 2008 10:43AM
Hurricane Hanna Puts Scare Into Southeast
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Still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Gustav, some people in the path of Tropical Storm Hanna aren't taking any chances.
In Charleston, South Carolina, CBS News correspondent Priya David reports many are preparing for high winds and heavy rain - boarding up windows, stocking up extra containers of gasoline and filling sandbags.
Larry Kowalsky of Charleston told CBS News his family is packing fast. "If they want us to evacuate, we're outta here.
"You just don't know with these hurricanes, you don't know what path they're going to take," he said.
And forecasters said Hanna could still become a hurricane before its expected arrival on U.S. shores after roaring past the edge of the Bahamas Thursday.
Several South Carolina counties have issued voluntary evacuation orders, and the military is moving aircraft to safety.
Hurricane Hanna proved deadly when it swept through Haiti, killing more than 130 people in massive floods earlier this week.
Hanna is expected to come ashore at Wilmington, N.C. today and move north along the Eastern seaboard.
Tropical storm watches or warnings were extended from Georgia to areas just south of New York City on Friday.
A hurricane watch remained in effect for Edisto Beach, S.C., to the Outer Banks of North Carolina near the Virginia border.
At 8:00 a.m. EDT Friday the center of Hanna was located about 115 miles east of Melbourne, Fla., and about 425 miles south of Wilmington, N.C.
Hanna is moving toward the northwest near 18 mph, with an increase in forward speed expected later today. Maximum sustained winds remain near 65 mph with higher gusts.
Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 315 miles from the center.
Some southeastern states declared emergencies and officials urged residents to head inland Thursday as Hanna headed toward the Atlantic coast, where it could bring high winds and rain from South Carolina to Maine.
Meanwhile, disaster planners eyed ferocious-looking Hurricane Ike, which weakened to a Category 3 storm early Friday but was still considered a dangerous hurricane by the National Hurricane Center.
And with power outages and problems from Hurricane Gustav lingering in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and relief groups found themselves juggling three storms.
Rain and wind from Hanna could start as early as Friday night in the South, where some residents shuttered houses and stocked up on food and sandbags, coastal parks closed, and schools canceled events and changed sports schedules.
The governors of Virginia and North Carolina declared states of emergency. North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley urged residents to pay attention because Hanna's path could change.
"No, you're not in the clear if you're not in the track we talked about today," he said. "You're in the clear after the storm goes through and didn't bother you."
In South Carolina, Gov. Mark Sanford urged people to leave flood-prone areas and mobile homes in two northern counties by Friday afternoon.
Still, some scoffed at the killer storm. Instead, they turned their attention to Ike, a powerful hurricane approaching the Bahamas. FEMA was sending hundreds of truckloads of meals, water and other supplies to the East Coast but also leaving resources on the Gulf Coast in case Ike heads there.
"Ike looks like it's a very, very dangerous storm," said FEMA Administrator David Paulison.
"Hanna is the third storm we have faced in just 3 weeks and Ike is right behind her. There's a lot coming at us. But we Floridians are strong and we can handle this," said that state's governor Charlie Crist.
In Florida, after weeks of heavy tropical rain, the Army Corps of Engineers is opening the floodgates at Lake Okeechobee to prevent flooding because of Hanna's heavy rain.
The American Red Cross also was moving supplies, equipment and people. The organization was borrowing money to cover Gustav expenses that could reach more than $70 million and expects to go deeper into debt as it prepares for the other storms, said Red Cross vice president Joseph Becker.
In North Myrtle Beach, S.C., few homes were boarded up Thursday, but vacationers hastily packed bags.
"We've seen people boarding up today and the Coast Guard helicopters flying overhead and decided it was time to go," said James Collins, of Cadillac, Mich.
Emergency managers in New England also planned for Hanna, which could hit this weekend with heavy rain and strong winds. In Providence, R.I., workers cleared storm drains and stocked up on sandbags and residents were urged to buy supplies.
"If nothing else it's a good dress rehearsal for Ike if Ike were to come," said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
Meanwhile, Haiti's government more than doubled Hanna's death toll late Thursday to 137. It had previously been 61. Eighty of the deaths occurred in the flooded region of Gonaives and another 22 people died in areas immediately surrounding the port, according to statements released by the Ministry of the Interior and the Civil Protection Department.
Gonaives has been almost entirely cut off by Hanna's floodwaters and virtual lakes have formed over every road.
The storm also was blamed for two deaths in Puerto Rico.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive 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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