TALLAHASSEE - Emergency officials warned Saturday that massive flooding is expected to follow Hurricane Frances, whose dwindling speed only means more time for feet of rain to fall on the state.
Gov. Jeb Bush and Federal Emergency Management director Mike Brown urged residents not to venture out until state officials have given the clear because flood waters can come hours after the actual storm has passed.
"Most (hurricane) deaths come from inland flooding," Brown said. "This water can pick up SUVs and move them hundreds of feet. You cannot fight these waters. They are killer."
State and federal officials also fear that people who evacuated early now are growing impatient with Frances' 6 mph forward crawl and diminished strength and may try return home too early. Those people risk getting caught in the storm itself or the aftermath flooding, Bush said.
"People need to be very cautious and very patient with this storm," Bush said. "There are people who are in harm's way and people who may lose their lives. What we don't want is to have people lose their lives because of abject stupidity."
About 2.8 million residents were told to clear out - the biggest evacuation in Florida history - but it was unclear how many did.
At 8 a.m., Frances, now a Category 2 hurricane, was about 110 miles east from West Palm Beach, chugging along to the northwest. Frances' core appeared headed toward the state's central Atlantic coast before crossing the state, the National Hurricane Center said. Its slowdown and weakening only extended the circumference of hurricane-force winds, which now extend outward up to 105 miles, compared to 85 miles when it was a Category 3 storm and 80 miles when it was a Category 4.
State officials unveiled a map Saturday of the parts of the state most susceptible to inland flooding. The map, a crisscross of the paths taken last month by Hurricane Charley and expected to be taken by Frances, formed a large X in the center of the state southwest of Orlando.
That's where the already saturated ground is less able to absorb more water, and officials expect to see many trees topple even in weaker winds because of the soggy soil.
Much of that area is agricultural land, including areas already devastated by Hurricane Charley. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson said little can be done to help livestock escape floodwaters or to protect crops.
"There's not much the animal industry can do," Bronson said. "Unless it's an anthill, there's not much higher ground in central Florida."
Housing for farmworkers is also a concern. Hardee and DeSoto counties lost 80 percent of their citrus crops and many of the mobile homes those farmworkers lived in were destroyed. Bush said he will move quickly to ensure workers affected by Frances are housed.
"If people don't have housing, they don't have workers. If they don't have workers, we don't have agriculture," Bush said.
Regular homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding so many people in the storm's path could find themselves paying out of their own pocket the repair costs for their damaged homes. While some programs through FEMA, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development can provide some assistance such as loans and temporary housing, flood repair assistance is limited, said Brown.
"They are obviously not going to have the great advantage of flood insurance," Brown said.
Also a problem is the shortage of gasoline. Many gas stations in the southeastern part of the state are sold out. Bush again asked for people to be patient and reminded them that the aftermath of the storm is not the time to be driving around anyway.
"There's going to be a lack of electricity, too, and gas stations don't work, unless you have a generator, without electricity," Bush said.
Many gas stations, particularly in the Charlotte County area, were inoperable in the days following Charley not because they ran out of gas but because there was no electricity for the pumps. As those gas stations began acquiring generators and reopened, people waited in lines that were 25 to 30 cars long. A repeat of that is expected following Frances.
"It's going to be a rough ride for the next few days," Bush said.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.[Last modified September 4, 2004, 11:07:05]
