Hide Article Text (OCR)
Hurricane Alberto forces mass evacuationsRANDALL HACKLEYAssociated Pi essKEY WEST — Residents of the Florida Keys abandoned their homes Thursday night and fled toward high ground as a hurricane that developed with “awesome” quickness roared past them with ftO-mph wind and driving rain.Cars streamed out of densely populated areas up the coast in Fort Myers, while some residents stocked up on vital supplies and hoped to ride out Hurricane Alberto.Civil Defense officials in Key West reported wind up to 50 mph just outside the city and said about 50 people were evacuated from their homes and taken to four cityshelters. The residents were evacuated after reporting flooding or because they were in unsecured mobile homes, officials said.The city appeared to be abandoned, with the only signs of life in the bars. Sloppy Joe’s, a famed Ernest Hemingway haunt, was packed.Forecasters in Miami, surprised by Albertos rapid development, were having difficulty predicting its path. It passed 75 miles west of Key West about 6 p.m.The center moved slightly north of its previous northeasterly path, and at 10:30 p.m. the hurricane warning was discontinued in the Keys from Marathon to the Dry Tortugas and a hurricane watch was discontinued from north ofMarathon to Jupiter Inlet. Gale warnings were continued from Jupiter Inlet to the Dry Tortugas. Hurricane warnings were continued from Cape Sable to and including Fort Myers and a hurricane watch and gale warning was extended northward from Fort Myers to Bradenton.“It appears as though it (landfall) is going to be Fort Myers,” said forecaster Bob Case.At 9:30 p.m. CDT, the storm’s poorly defined center was about 100 miles southwest of Naples, near latitude 25.2 north, longitude 83.0 west.Wind reached 70 mph at Dry Tortugas west of Key WeSt as Alberto’s center passed just to the west during the late afternoon.Forecasters said the hurricane would most likely hit land about daybreak today. Long lines at gas stations, grocery stores and hardware stores were reported at Fort Myers in populous Lee County after the hurricane warnings were issued.National Hurricane Center Director Neil Frank predicted tides of up to 7 feet above normal and 5 to 10 more inches of rain. Heavy rain continued late Thursday over western and central Cuba.In Key West, a tornado picked up a moving car, spun it around and tossed it into a tree. The driver received minor injuries but declined treatment, said Civil Defense spokeswoman Rhonda Rennebaum.A second twister touched down on Boca Chica bridge and knocked two telephone poles onto the Overseas Highway, delaying traffic for about an hour and damaging a Mosquito Control truck, Ms. Rennebaum said Earlier in the day, scores of motorists had streamed northward out of the island chain on the Overseas Highway.George Henderson, communications officer at the Collier County Civil Defense headquarters in Naples, said residents of Marco Island on the Gulf Coast were advised to leave “if they feel uncomfortable where they are At 7 p.m EDT, a long lino of• See Alberto. 2A
Newspaper Details
Panama City News Herald
Panama City, Florida, US
Fri, Jun 04, 1982
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
George C.
FL, USA 06 Aug 2024
Other Publications Near Panama City, Florida
Panama City Pilot
Panama City News Herald Sunday
Panama City News Herald
Panama News Herald
Panama City News
