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Hurricane Katrina

For partiers, surfers: eh. For travelers: eek!

By Times staff writers
Published August 26, 2005

	Projected path Hurricane Guide Ten things you can do to prepare

MIAMI - About one month ago, rapper Diddy declared that Miami was the best city to hold the MTV Music awards because it is so "hot."

Diddy can now add a new word to his Miami lexicon: wet.

A black cloud seemed to settle over the city Thursday. This was supposed to be a week of parties and concerts leading up to Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards. But concerts and parties were canceled, though organizers made no announcements or changes regarding the awards ceremony.

As for Diddy, he was still planning a soiree at Mansion, a local club.

MIAMI BEACH - Surfers flocked to the beach early Thursday as Katrina approached, looking to ride some waves.

At times nearly 100 surfers waited patiently offshore, looking for the big swell.

Chris McGrath, a 30-year-old Miami teacher, hurriedly packed away some of his clothes and grabbed his board and gear as he started back to the beach.

"I just got the okay from my wife to surf for another hour, so I gotta go," McGrath said. "It's just starting to get fun out there. It's nice and glassy."

A Miami native, McGrath estimated he has surfed these conditions more than 50 times.

"Down here, (these conditions) are exceptional," McGrath said. "Anywhere else, this is routine. These waves are every day in California. You can't miss this."

All Pinellas public high school football games, scheduled for tonight, were played Thursday night because of Katrina. In Hillsborough, public school officials moved the scheduled start of all of tonight's games to 6:45 p.m.

MIAMI - By Thursday afternoon, airlines stopped flying to South Florida airports and most canceled flights at least through this morning.

Southwest Airlines said it expected to resume flying to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach by midday today.

It wasn't clear Thursday whether the Katrina would affect other flights today from Tampa International Airport. Travelers were advised to check with airlines before arriving at the airport.

TAMPA - The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Empress of the Seas made an unscheduled stop at Tampa's port Thursday after the U.S. Coast Guard closed Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

Customers were flown home from Tampa International or driven by bus to Port Everglades.

Royal Caribbean arranged for outbound travelers to catch the ship in Tampa later Thursday for the start of their four-day cruise.

Times staff writers Steve Huettel and Tamara Lush contributed to this report, which used information from the Associated Press.

[Last modified August 26, 2005, 01:38:04]