Ivan's remnants still deadly; 11 more killed across East Coast

By Rennie Sloan and John-Thor Dahlburg
Los Angeles Times

PHIL COALE / AP The owner of this house destroyed by Hurricane Ivan kneels to pray in front of the rubble yesterday in Cape San Blas, Fla.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Related stories Cuba ready for Ivan's brush "Dome Home" weathers storm

The storm spawned multiple tornadoes last night that spun across northern Virginia and grounded planes at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.

In Florida's Panhandle, rescuers clawed through the wreckage of the third hurricane to strike the state in little over a month.

"We expect Ivan to be a catastrophic event (and) we have search and rescue on the ground" in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, said Craigin Mosteller, a spokeswoman for the state Emergency Operations Office. As many as 16 people in Florida were reported killed when Ivan stormed ashore from the Gulf of Mexico early Thursday near the Alabama-Florida line.

Moving northeast at about 18 mph yesterday, the soggy remnants of the Category 3 hurricane caused major flooding in Asheville, N.C., swept away homes, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands and sparked flood warnings along the Appalachian mountain chain from northern Alabama to southern New York.

Georgia authorities reported four Ivan-related deaths, including a 6-year-old girl in White County swept away by storm water in a culvert and an 86-year-old woman who burned down her house after she lit a candle when her electricity went out. Many roads, especially in Georgia's northeast, were washed out.

Ivan at a glance Alabama: Four fatalities, including three from apparent carbon-monoxide poisoning from a portable generator, and a volunteer firefighter crushed by a falling tree. About 660,000 customers were without power last night. Florida: Sixteen deaths, including an 8-year-old girl crushed by a tree near Pensacola. About 430,000 customers were without electricity. Georgia: Four deaths, including a 6-year-old girl swept from her front yard into a storm drain. About 223,000 customers were without electricity. Up to 9 inches of rain fell in some parts. Louisiana: Four deaths, all ailing or frail evacuees being taken from their storm-threatened homes. About 1,000 customers were without power. Mississippi: Three deaths. About 65,000 customers were without power. North Carolina: Eight deaths, including two when a house collapsed in southwestern North Carolina. About 219,000 customers were without power. South Carolina: No reported deaths or serious injuries. About 32,000 customers were without power. Tennessee: One death, a police officer who crashed on a rain-slickened road. Source: The Associated Press

By 8 a.m. yesterday, Ivan had soaked Atlanta with more than 5 inches of rain, and the Georgia capital and its environs suffered serious flooding, wind damage and downed trees, some of which took power lines along with them.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue wrote President Bush requesting expedited federal disaster assistance.

In Harriman, Tenn., a police officer crashed and died Thursday night when his patrol car hydroplaned on a rain-slicked road. The train station and much of the business district in Spring City, Tenn., was flooded, and in surrounding Rhea County, 50 homes were damaged and at least 150 people sought safety in shelters, said Kurt Pickering, a spokesman for the state's emergency management agency.

In the mountains of western North Carolina, six deaths were blamed on Ivan, including a Henderson County resident who died when a tree fell on a house, said Sgt. Everett Clendinin, spokesman for the state's emergency response team. More than 200 roads in North Carolina were closed, including Interstate 40, a major cross-country thoroughfare.

The National Weather Service said last night it was tracking numerous twisters racing across northern Virginia. One of the funnels touched down in Chantilly, Va., near Dulles, damaging homes, and flights at the airport were delayed.

Northern Virginia, Maryland and the metropolitan Washington area were placed under a tornado warning. Meteorologists said the twisters were part of a thunder cell created by Ivan as it pushed north.

Dawn Eischen, spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said the weather service had confirmed 15 tornadoes as of 7:30 p.m. EDT. No deaths or injuries were reported, Eischen said, but in the Richmond area an industrial park and a few homes were destroyed.

By today, the heart of the elongated tropical depression should arrive over the Virginia Tidewater, and is expected to dump precipitation on much of the East Coast, said Eric Blake, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Ivan killed at least 40 people in the United States. Ivan was also blamed for at least 70 deaths in the Caribbean.

In Florida, early estimates of damage to insured property ranged between $6 billion and $10 billion, said Tami Torres, spokesperson for the state Department of Financial Services. That figure did not include damage to infrastructure.

"I've seen it described as, as wide as Frances with the impact of Charley," Torres said, referring to the two hurricanes that mauled much of Florida in the past five weeks.

About 430,000 customers in Florida were reported without power yesterday, and officials said it could be weeks before electricity, water and sewer services were restored.

Florida was praying that Ivan would be the last of the hurricane season's devastation. Out in the Atlantic, Tropical Depression Jeanne churned on a track toward landfall next week in the southeastern United States — and, possibly, Florida.

Dahlburg reported from Miami, Sloan from Atlanta. Intern Richard Rainey contributed from Washington, D.C.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More nation & world headlines...