Frances sets sights on Florida coast

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Evacuation orders for about 500,000 Florida residents took effect Wednesday as Hurricane Frances moved closer to the state's Atlantic coastline.

Florida fears the storm will be the second hurricane to hit the state since Aug. 13, when Hurricane Charley came ashore on the gulf coast, killing 27 people and causing an estimated $20 billion in damage.

"I will tell you this: We are prepared, we will respond and we will recover," Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said. "We have the resources to meet this challenge and we will do whatever it takes to begin the recovery process and respond to this storm."

The eye of Frances was about 650 miles east-southeast of the Florida East Coast on Wednesday evening. The storm, with Category 4 winds near 140 mph, was moving west-northwest at 15 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend out about 80 miles from the storm's center.

In Palm Bay, about 80 people endured waits of up to 5 1/2 hours on Wednesday to buy a few sheets of plywood to board up their homes. Frances was still far away, near Puerto Rico. But they weren't taking chances.

At grocery stores, bottled water supplies dwindled quickly as residents snapped up gallon jugs, along with batteries and other supplies.

"The experience of the last hurricane prompted people to want to be prepared," said Scott Finke, grocery manager at an Albertson supermarket in Palm Bay. "We weren't expecting it to start as quickly."

NASA moved Tuesday to protect its multibillion-dollar space shuttle fleet at Cape Canaveral and might close Kennedy Space Center as a precaution Friday, officials said.

Tropical-storm force winds could hit Florida's coast as early as Friday morning, with landfall as early as Friday night or early Saturday morning. Bush declared a state of emergency Wednesday.

Official evacuation orders went out in Palm Beach County for those living in coastal areas — about 300,000 people. Brevard County made plans for its own evacuation orders affecting up to 185,000 people, and Indian River County planned to begin evacuating people living on barrier islands and in mobile homes beginning Thursday.

Craig Fugate, director of the state's Division of Emergency Management, said Frances will affect far more counties than Charley because of its larger eyewall.

In some ways, Charley has aided preparation for Frances.

"We have some assets on the ground that, because of Charley, are already staged," Bush said. "I'm not suggesting there are some benefits to two storms hitting you."