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Bush urges prayers for Panhandle

By JONI JAMES
Published July 10, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush urged Florida residents to pray Sunday for Panhandle residents facing a second major hurricane in less than a year.

Ten months after Hurricane Ivan slammed the coast around the Alabama-Florida state line, Hurricane Dennis, a compact but powerful storm, was headed there again.

Dennis was expected to make landfall in the mid-afternoon as a Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane.

"Please pray for the safety of residents and for a quick recovery," Bush said at a morning news conference in the state Emergency Operations Center.

Dennis is expected to send a 10-to-12-foot storm surge across a 30-mile stretch of the coast, a far smaller area than that hit by Ivan.

But its wind field, particularly to the east, is very large and is expected to cause tropical storm conditions up to 200 miles from its center.

State and federal officials have been planning for the storm since Thursday, positioning supplies on both the Florida and Alabama sides, partly because they don't anticipate being able to use the Interstate 10 bridge across Escambia Bay east of Pensacola.

Hurricane Ivan, a Category 3 storm,demolished that bridge last year and a temporary replacement was closed about 3 a.m. Sunday due to wind conditions.

Bush said he was glad, at least, that the hurricane would come ashore while it was light outside. Bush, who rode out the 1992 Hurricane Andrew in a friend's home in Miami, said it will help residents cope with a frightening situation. He also stressed help was on the way.

"Once the wind subsides, you'll be seeing convoys down I-10," Bush said.

[Last modified July 10, 2005, 14:06:43]