Hurricane Katrina drenches Florida, floods feared

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http://olympics.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-08-25T202411Z_01_HO481242_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-WEATHER-KATRINA-DC.XML


By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Katrina strengthened into a hurricane from a tropical storm on Thursday and deluged Florida's densely populated southeast coast with rain, heightening fears of flooding.

The core of the storm was expected to hit the Fort Lauderdale area late on Thursday or early on Friday, dumping up to 10 inches of rain on southern Florida as it moved slowly across the state into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

"The entire south part of the peninsula is at risk for flooding," said Ed Rappaport, the center's deputy director.

Some areas could get up to 15 inches of rain, the hurricane center said. Skies darkened and rain poured as the outer bands of the storm moved ashore. Some streets were already flooding and emergency managers urged people to stay inside.

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