Tropical Storm Fay Makes Record 4th Landfall in Florida

23 August 2008 -- Authorities in the the southeastern U.S. state of Florida say Tropical Storm Fay has killed at least 10 people since it began pounding the state with torrential rain last Monday.

Fay became the first storm of its kind in recorded history to make landfall four times in Florida - coming ashore again Saturday along the state's Gulf of Mexico coast.

Flooding in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fay: Photo by J.S. Clark (CC)

Its winds never have been strong enough to declare it a hurricane, but Fay has dumped more than 63 centimeters of rain on parts of Florida, flooding hundreds of homes and forcing numerous evacuations.

U.S. President George Bush has declared an emergency for the waterlogged state, authorizing federal authorities to coordinate disaster relief efforts.

The National Hurricane Center reports Fay's maximum sustained winds are 45 kilometers per hour. The center forecasts more heavy rain as the storm moves westward at seven kilometers per hour toward the neighboring states of Alabama and Mississippi on Sunday.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

Source: VOA News

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