Frances downgraded as it passes through Georgia
Powerful hurricane Frances, which disrupted Florida’s typically busy Labor Day Weekend with theme parks, restaurants, and other businesses shut down, was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday as it headed through Georgia.
But officials said Florida faces another hurricane watch as Ivan churns its way possibly headed for Florida, perhaps as early as this weekend.
Forecaster said Frances could dump as much as 10 inches of rain on Georgia with the entire US seaboard expected to see wet weather continuing this week.
Tourist-related businesses were open again this week for the most part. And airports in Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Vero Beach, Tampa and Orlando re-opened.
Frances struck while Florida was recovering from Charley, a smaller but more powerful storm that killed 27 people last month.
Frances was “the largest tropical storm we’ve ever had,” Florida Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings told CNN.
Damages were estimated somewhere in the billions of dollars. There were up to ten fatalities from flooding and other causes.
Tourism facilities in the Bahamas were not impaired by the storm, officials said. The Nassau International Airport was fully operational early this week. Cruise lines in The Bahamas said they would resume normal operations later this week.
Major hotels and resorts in Nassau, Cable Beach and on Paradise Island suffered only minimal cosmetic damage and were fully operational, according to the PRNewswire.
In Charley’s wake, VISIT FLORIDA set up a special toll-free number for storm information.
Callers to 1-800-287-8598 will be directed to a live operator, according to Bud Nocera, president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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