Florida officials say Fay's toll up to 10 people
AP , Tallahassee: Aug 23 2008
Made Popular Aug 23 2008
United States :

Florida authorities say two more people have been killed by Tropical Storm Fay, raising the storm’s death toll to 10.

Florida Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey and Gov. Charlie Crist updated the storm’s toll in a Saturday morning news conference from the state emergency operations center in Tallahassee.

The identities of the latest victims and their causes of death weren’t immediately released.

Fay made landfall early Saturday morning for a record fourth time on Florida’s Panhandle. Crist called the storm mainly a rain event and warned residents to stay inside and off the roads.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

APALACHICOLA, Fla. _ Tropical Storm Fay began wrapping up its disastrous slog across Florida on Saturday by making a record fourth landfall on the Panhandle’s coast.

Across the Florida peninsula, communities began cleaning up the damage from several inches of rain that flooded homes, destroyed crops and prompted Gov. Charlie Crist to ask for a major disaster declaration from the federal government.

Fay’s center made landfall around 1 a.m. EDT about 15 miles north-northeast of Apalachicola, according to the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center.

Fay was expected to finally leave the state on Saturday and reach the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama on Sunday. Though Fay never became a hurricane, downpours along its zigzagging path have been punishing and deadly.

At least six people in Florida were dead from the storm, state officials said, and two more deaths reported Friday were believed to be Fay-related. The state attributed an additional death, before the storm hit, to hurricane preparedness after a man testing generators died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“The damage from Fay is a reminder that a tropical storm does not have to reach a hurricane level to be dangerous and cause significant damage,” said Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who toured flooded communities this week.

Crist on Friday asked the White House to elevate the disaster declaration President Bush issued to a major disaster declaration. Crist said the storm damaged 1,572 homes in Brevard County alone, dropping 25 inches of rain in Melbourne.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, the center of the storm was located about 100 miles east-southeast of Pensacola and was moving west near 7 mph with sustained winds near 45 mph. The storm was expected to keep its strength and remain a tropical storm into Sunday.

Fay’s fourth landfall was underwhelming for some in the Apalachicola area.

“It’s been peaceful and quiet so far,” said Franklin County Emergency Management Director Butch Baker, who lives in Carabelle, where the storm’s center came ashore.

“I slept through the whole thing. It wasn’t very dramatic when it came onshore.”

Baker said his office received reports of sporadic power outages, but roads were clear and they hadn’t received any calls for help.

Martha Pearl Ward, 72, and Pam Nobles, 52, were heading for breakfast in downtown Apalachicola on Saturday morning.

“I just think we’re so fortunate we didn’t have high tide and a stronger wind because (Hurricane) Dennis is still fresh in our mind, the tidal surge we had in here,” Ward said.

Fay’s wake caused widespread flooding along Florida’s east coast, especially in Jacksonville near the storm’s third landfall. Some areas of Duval County reported up to 20 inches of rain, and authorities reported an unknown number of homes and businesses flooded. Floodwaters began receding in some of the hardest-hit areas of South Florida.

Fay has been an unusual storm, even by Florida standards. It first made landfall in the Florida Keys on Monday, then headed out over open water again before hitting a second time near Naples on the southwest coast. It limped across the state, popped back out into the Atlantic Ocean and struck again near Flagler Beach on the central coast. It was the first storm in almost 50 years to make three landfalls in the state, as most hit and exit within a day or two.

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Associated Press writers Brent Kallestad and Bill Kaczor reported from Tallahassee; Ron Word from Jacksonville; Brian Skoloff from Melbourne; Melissa Nelson from Pensacola; Russ Bynum from Savannah, Ga.; and David Fischer and Tamara Lush from Miami.

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