Friday, August 26, 2005

As hurricane Katrina moves beyond the Floridian peninsula, death tolls have begun to surface. On Friday, the official count was seven dead, at least five missing. 4 people in Broward, 3 in Miami. The forecast for Hurricane Katrina predicts that it will continue on its present northwesterly course and approach the panhandle of Florida and the Mississippi delta region in the next few days.

Katrina made landfall on Friday in southern Florida’s Miami and Fort Lauderdale metropolitan areas. Packing 80 mph winds, it downed trees and power lines as it slowly crossed the peninsula. It swamped some areas with as much as 12 inches of rainfall.

Katrina is now a category 4, and gaining power over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Large portions of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Menroe counties have no electricity, and thousands of customers in the tri-county area have no cable service.

Hurricane Katrina is responsible for the collapse of a highway overpass, under construction, and for a warehouse fire in Metro Fort Lauderdale.

Schools in Miami-Dade and Broward were closed when the storm made landfall. Menroe County schools were in session.

More on Hurricane Katrina as the storm progresses.