Hurricane Erin Strikes Florida For Second Time Downed Lines Leave Thousands Of Floridians Without Power

Hurricane Erin thrashed Florida a second time Thursday, ambushing thousands of terrified residents and tourists and causing widespread damage before losing its punch over Alabama.

Erin was downgraded to a storm late Thursday after its sustained winds dropped to 60 mph, down from the 94 mph winds that blasted the Florida Panhandle, knocking out windows, damaging water lines and tossing boats like baseballs.

“We have trees down, we have transformers exploding on power poles,” said John Teelin, a spokesman for Escambia County Emergency Management. “It’s quite a show.”

No injuries or deaths were immediately reported. Erin killed at least two people and left five missing at sea when it hit central Florida early Wednesday.

By late evening, Erin weakened further as it headed northwest, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm brought rain and high winds to parts of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, downing some trees and power lines but causing no major damage, officials said.

Earlier in the day, the hurricane-force winds and driving rain peeled back roofs at shopping centers, restaurants and apartment buildings across several Panhandle counties. Hundreds of trees toppled, and power lines went down faster than utility crews could keep up.

More than 700,000 Florida residents were without power, some for a second day.

“The wind beat it so hard it bent the door almost in half,” said Lori Sheldt of Pensacola Beach, a barrier island town south of this Panhandle city.

Gov. Lawton Chiles requested a federal emergency declaration from President Clinton to pave the way for disaster aid.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department said 50 to 60 police cars would patrol the area overnight to guard against looting.

The center of the storm moved ashore at about 10 a.m. in Pensacola, which had not been hit directly by a hurricane since one in September 1926 killed 372 people in Florida and Alabama.

Downed power lines in Pensacola sparked and snapped “like a Fourth of July party,” said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike Kirby.

State insurance officials projected insured losses as high as $200 million.

State meteorologist Mike Rucker said many Florida coastal residents failed to take the hurricane warnings seriously and were caught by surprise.

Forecasters had predicted Wednesday night that the hurricane would most likely brush the Florida Panhandle on its way to the Mississippi-Louisiana coast - not slam into it.

More than 10,000 people evacuated coastal areas near Pensacola, but Florida officials said only about 600 people had taken refuge overnight in shelters.

Teelin, of Escambia County Emergency Management, complained that county officials didn’t have enough time to warn residents.

Officials at the National Hurricane Center disputed that claim, saying a hurricane warning was posted for the Florida Panhandle at 3 p.m. Wednesday.