Rita rages into Gulf

KEY WEST, Fla. — Rapidly strengthening Hurricane Rita lashed the Florida Keys on Tuesday and headed into the Gulf of Mexico, where forecasters feared it could develop into another blockbuster storm targeting Texas or Louisiana.

Thousands of people were evacuated from the Keys and low-lying areas of northern Cuba. On the far side of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Galveston started evacuations and officials made plans to move refugees from Hurricane Katrina who had been housed in the Houston area to Arkansas.

Forecasters said Rita could intensify in the Gulf of Mexico into a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 131 mph. The most likely destination by week's end is Texas, although Louisiana and northern Mexico are possibilities, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Acting FEMA director R. David Paulison told reporters that the agency has aircraft and buses available to evacuate residents of areas the hurricane might hit. Rescue teams and truckloads of ice, water and prepared meals were being sent to Texas and Florida.

"I strongly urge Gulf Coast residents to pay attention" to the storm, he said.

Stung by criticism of the government's slow initial response to Hurricane Katrina, President Bush signed an emergency declaration for Florida and spoke with Texas Gov. Rick Perry about planning for the storm's landfall.

"All up and down the coastline people are now preparing for what is anticipated to be another significant storm," Bush said.

Later in the day, the president signed legislation to increase the borrowing authority of the government's flood insurance program to $3.5 billion from $1.5 billion to pay claims from Hurricane Katrina.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said more than 2,000 Florida National Guard troops and dozens of law enforcement officers were ready to deal with Rita's aftermath, although it appeared the Keys were spared the storm's full fury.

"I think we did, so far, dodge a bullet," said Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley.

Rita started Tuesday as a tropical storm with top sustained wind of 70 mph. But as it cruised through the Florida Straits between the Keys and Cuba, it gathered energy from the warm sea, becoming a Category 2 hurricane. By late Tuesday, its top winds had strengthened to 110 mph, just 1 mph away from qualifying as a Category 3 storm.

Bush received a briefing about Rita aboard the USS Iwo Jima, which is docked near downtown New Orleans, as the hurricane caused new anxiety among Katrina victims in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.