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Albertocars was reported snaking inland from the island and from Everglades City, carrying coastal residents to higher ground.Marco Island’s 20,000 residents are especially vulnerable to a hurricane, Henderson said, because the island’s flat beaches and gentle dunes offer little obstacle to a hurricane’s storm surge, the high water pushed up by the storm’s high wind.“Most people live smack upon the water,” he said.No evacuation order was given for Marco residents, Henderson said. “But we counseled the residents, especially if they live in mobile homes, that they would be more comfortable elsewhere.”Air Florida canceled all flights from Miami to Key West, a spokesmaan said.Residents of Key West, without enough time to evacuate to the mainland, had crowded stores tostock up on canned goods, bottled water and plywood.Officials closed Monroe County schools at noon, and nonessential city and county employees were sent home. Some city crews were sent around the island to clear away trash and loose articles that could become dangerous projectiles in high wind.Alberto, just a tropical depression with winds of 35 mph at 6 a.m. on the third day of the 1982 Atlantic hurricane season, had become a hurricane by afternoon.“Just looking at it and watching the satellite pictures, it has puton a very impressive display of strength,” said forecaster Miles Lawrence.“In a period of less than 24 hours, the storm went from a weak depression, the center of which we could barely locate...and by midday today, we’ve got a hurricane with 80 mph winds and a veryfrom Page 1Aimpressive-looking satellite presentation of cloud structure.”While early hurricanes are not unheard of, Lawrence noted that it was unusual to have one just three days into the Atlantic hurricane season.“Ordinarily we expect the more significant storms to occur in August, September and October,” he said. “To have one really wind up...it’s awesome to see it happen so early in the year.”While still a tropical storm and a depression, Alberto flooded parts ol Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, forcing evacuation of more than 2,000 people and some 80,000 head of cattle, Havana radio reportedThe broadcast, monitored in Miami, said flooding had knocked out communication in the cities of Guane, Mantua, Minas de Matthambre, Punta de Palma and I^a Coloma, a fishing port.The Coast Guard cutter Acushnet slammed its way through stormy seas southwest of Key West to rescue two people from a 35-foot pleasure boat, the Mohican, said Lt. Robert Rzemieniewski. The Coast Guard said the cutter then was dispatched to help the Bottom Line, a 53-foot sports fisherman with three people aboard that reportedly almost sank after taking a large wave over the stern.While Alberto is the first Atlantic storm of the season, a Pacific tropical storm called Aleta lshed the Central American countries of Nicaragua and Honduras for five days in late May, leaving 300 people dead and 30,000 homeless.A tropical depression becomes a named tropical storm when its sustained winds reach 39 mph, and a hurricane when winds surpass 74 mph
Newspaper Details
Panama City News Herald
Panama City, Florida, US
Fri, Jun 04, 1982
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
George C.
FL, USA 06 Aug 2024
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