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Eta regains hurricane strength as Florida prepares for hit

Published:Wednesday | November 11, 2020 | 9:41 AM
Residents clear debris from a flooded street in the Driftwood Acres Mobile Home Park, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Tuesday, November 10, 2020, in Davie, Florida. Tropical Storm Eta was squatting off western Cuba on Tuesday after drifting away from South Florida, where it unleashed a deluge that flooded entire neighbourhoods and covered the floors of some homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) — Eta regained hurricane strength Wednesday morning as Florida braced for a second hit from the storm.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds increased to around 75 miles per hour off Florida’s southwest coast.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a hurricane watch for a 120-mile stretch that includes Tampa and St Petersburg.

The storm has been in the Gulf of Mexico since crossing over South Florida on Sunday.

The latest hurricane watch extends from Anna Maria Island, which is south of St Petersburg, to Yankeetown.

Eta was about 130 miles west-southwest of Fort Myers early Wednesday and moving at 15 miles per hour.

The hurricane centre said “life-threatening storm surge” is possible early Thursday, and forecasters advised residents to heed warnings from local officials.

Tropical storm force winds are expected in the area by late Wednesday.

Forecasts call for more rain from the storm system over parts of already drenched South Florida.

The storm first hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and killed nearly 70 people from Mexico to Panama, before moving into the Gulf of Mexico early Monday near where the Everglades meet the sea, with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour.

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