- TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters)
- A weakening Tropical Storm Jeanne left Florida on Monday after pounding
areas of the beleaguered state's east coast ravaged by Hurricane Frances
three weeks ago.
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- "We finally got rid of Jeanne," state meteorologist
Ben Nelson said as the storm moved north into Georgia.
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- Jeanne was blamed for at least six deaths in Florida
after causing floods in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico last
week in which at least 1,680 people died, with some 800 still missing in
Haiti.
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- As a hurricane, Jeanne dealt Florida its fourth strike
this season, ripping off roofs and filling oceanfront condos with sand
when it crashed ashore with 120 mph winds near Stuart, on the Atlantic
coast, and moved across the state to the Gulf coast on Sunday.
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- The storm left about 5.2 million people without electricity
as it pulled down trees and shredded power lines.
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- Forecasters said Jeanne's top winds had weakened to 40
mph by 11 a.m. Monday, but it threatened to spawn tornadoes and torrential
downpours in Georgia and South Carolina.
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- The storm dumped up to 10 inches of rain on parts of
Florida already waterlogged by previous storms, and several rivers were
rising dangerously.
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- "We're going to see lots and lots of flooding,"
Nelson said.
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- A risk assessment group, Risk Management Solutions, estimated
insured losses from Jeanne at $4 billion to $8 billion. Hurricanes Charley,
Frances and Ivan caused up to $18 billion in additional losses in Florida
since mid-August.
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- MAJOR DISASTER DECLARED
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- Emergency workers hoped to conclude search and rescue
operations on Monday and trucks full of food, water and medical supplies
were en route to the stricken areas.
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- President Bush declared a major disaster in Florida,
opening the way to federal aid for storm victims in 19 counties, including
three that his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said were among the hardest
hit -- Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.
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- Those counties on the Atlantic coast north of Palm Beach,
also took the brunt of Hurricane Frances three weeks ago. Seaside towns
were littered with furniture, boats, overturned cars, tree limbs and twisted
scraps of metal, some of it debris left from Frances.
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- Along the waterfront just north of Vero Beach, virtually
every home had some sort of damage, from missing roofs to entire second
floors swept away.
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- The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it had ample
resources, but urged residents with lesser damage to hold off seeking aid
because of the broad scale of destruction.
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- "We're asking those with minor damage to just wait
a few days," said FEMA spokesman Shelley Boone. "Maybe your neighbor's
house is completely flattened."
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- The hurricane was blamed for at least six deaths in Florida
-- a Miami man electrocuted by a fallen power line, three people who drowned
in submerged vehicles, and an elderly couple whose mobile home collapsed
on top of them in St. Lucie County.
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- Bridges to Hutchinson Island, off Stuart, were impassable
because of wave damage, officials said. The storm's powerful sea surge
swept tons of sand into beach condos, filling first-floor rooms, and its
winds blew out windows.
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- In the last six weeks, Florida has been hit by hurricanes
Charley, Frances and Ivan. Jeanne was the record fourth hurricane of the
season, which left a combined 114 people dead in the United States.
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- - Additional reporting by Marc Serota in Vero Beach and
Jim Loney, Frances Kerry, Jane Sutton and Michael Christie in Miami
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