"Fay weakens but still rages on; Gulf Coast braces for rain, flooding" by Bill Kaczor, Associated Press | August 24, 2008
APALACHICOLA, Fla. - Tropical Storm Fay set a record with four landfalls in Florida and was blamed for at least 11 deaths there and another in Georgia, emergency officials said.
Thousands of homes and businesses in Florida were inundated with flood waters last week as the storm worked its way north from its first landfall in the Florida Keys and zigzagged across the peninsula.
Though the storm weakened as it traveled inland yesterday, with maximum sustained winds of about 35 miles per hour, cities from Pensacola to New Orleans were still preparing for possible flooding. Forecasters said areas from the Florida panhandle to eastern Louisiana could get 6 to 12 inches of rain before the storm was over. Isolated tornadoes were also possible.
The forecast indicates the depression could slow in the next few days and possibly stall tomorrow over southern Mississippi or eastern Louisiana, Rhome said. It was expected to bring heavy rain to southern Alabama and Mississippi today.
In Alabama, officials opened shelters in the coastal counties of Mobile and Baldwin for people in low-lying areas. Trucks capable of rescuing people from flood waters were also in place, said Yasamie Richardson, spokeswoman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.
In the New Orleans area, which is approaching the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, forecasts called for several inches of rain on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. In St. Bernard Parish, site of some of the worst post-Katrina flooding, emergency officials were handing out sandbags yesterday.
Sandbags were also distributed in Ocean Springs, Gulfport, and Biloxi on the Mississippi coast. The Air Force Reserve's 403d Wing evacuated aircraft yesterday from Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi to locations in South Florida and Texas. The 403d includes planes known as "hurricane hunters" that officials said would be available to continue to monitor Fay.
Rains and strong wind gusts blitzed Tallahassee for more than 24 hours, knocking down trees and power lines and cutting electricity to more than 12,000 customers, city officials said.
In southwest Georgia, officials said a boy drowned yesterday while playing in a drainage ditch swollen by 10 to 12 inches of rain. His death, along with the 11 deaths in Florida, bring the toll from Fay to at least 35. A total of 23 died in Haiti and the Dominican Republic from flooding.
Wow, the MSM only reported about 5 of them during the week!
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