Hurricane Dennis weakened Saturday after lashing Cuba with powerful
winds,
crashing waves and torrential rain, killing at least 10 people as the storm
churned its way across the length of the Caribbean nation.
After lashing Cuba and Haiti with powerful winds and causing the deaths of up to 32 people, Hurricane Dennis surged over the Gulf of Mexico, brushing by Key West, Florida, on the way
Local broadcasts from Haiti said as many as 22 were killed when winds and rains hit.
The aid agency Concern Worldwide said it had confirmed at least five people had been killed in Haiti but believed the reports of 22 were accurate.
The storm left at least 10 people dead in Cuba as it pounded the island with powerful winds and torrential rains, according to President Fidel Castro in a televised address to his countrymen.
At 9 a.m. ET, the eye of the storm was about 110 miles west of Key West, 380 miles south-southeast of Apalachicola, Florida and 520 miles southeast of Pascagouls, Mississippi, forecasters said.
It was moving toward the northwest at about 14 mph, and that general motion was expected to continue for the next 24 hours. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 65 miles from the storm's eye, and tropical storm-force winds extended up to 175 miles.
The three-day forecast for Dennis has the storm striking Sunday near Pensacola, Florida, after strengthening over the warm Gulf waters. However, such predictions often change because of the unpredictable nature of a hurricane's movement.
Some 10 million Americans are potentially in Dennis' path, according to federal officials.
Dennis is now a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (161 kph), the National Hurricane Center said Saturday.
Key West's streets deserted
Meanwhile, the normally bustling streets of Key West, Florida -- where one gust
from Dennis was measured Saturday morning at 74 mph -- were largely empty as
the storm dealt a glancing blow.
Hurricane-force winds extended up to 40 miles from the storm's eye, and tropical storm-force winds extended up to 175 miles from the center.
Minor damage was reported on Key West, and authorities asked residents to remain indoors Saturday.
Forecasters said a storm surge of 3 to 6 feet and between 4 and 8 inches of rain remained likely in the low-lying Florida Keys.
A tornado was reported in Manatee County, Florida, some 200 miles from Dennis' center, Saturday morning.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate asked residents of the Keys to stay in their homes or, if they have left their homes, to wait until authorities give an all-clear before trying to return.
Residents of the Florida Panhandle, he said, still have time to evacuate, but "today, you need to act. There is no longer an option that you can hope this storm away."
Residents of Alabama and northwest Florida braced for a projected hit from the powerful storm Sunday afternoon, less than a year after Hurricane Ivan brought destruction to the region along the same path. Much of that damage has yet to be repaired.
The governors of four states -- Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana -- declared states of emergency, and evacuations began in low-lying areas and barrier islands, including a number of popular beach resorts.
The three-day forecast projection for Dennis has the storm striking Sunday afternoon near Pensacola, Florida.
However, such predictions often change because of the unpredictable nature of a hurricane's movement.
Early Saturday, a hurricane warning was issued for portions of the northeastern Gulf Coast, from the Louisiana-Mississippi state line to the mouth of Florida's Steinhatchee River, east of Tallahassee.
A hurricane warning also remained in effect for the lower Keys, south of the Seven Mile Bridge, with the upper Keys under a hurricane watch.
A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the area within 24 hours.
A tropical storm warning was posted for much of Florida's west coast, from east of the Steinhatchee River southward, around the bottom of the peninsula and up the state's east coast to Golden Beach in Miami-Dade County.
And a tropical storm warning was issued for the southeastern Louisiana coast, from the Mississippi state line west to Grand Isle. The warning includes New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.
More than 1,100 workers were evacuated from offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in the path of the storm. The U.S. Navy and Air Force also moved ships, aircraft and personnel out of bases in the Florida Panhandle.
In Washington, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has begun sending supplies such as ice, water and plastic sheeting to storm-threatened Southern states. Disaster medical assistance teams also have been deployed.
