Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 1 augusT 2017
Tropical Storm Emily: Power outages, rain, fishermen rescued

ida peninsula toward the day morning about the
Atlantic coast. two brothers, who had
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said been out fishing when their
at an afternoon news brief- boat engine died. While
ing in the state capital of the brothers worked on
Tallahassee that about the inoperable pump, the
18,000 homes and busi- boat drifted and struck the
nesses lost power, mostly in range light, according to
hard-hit Manatee County. a Coast Guard statement.
Scott, who was on vaca- The brothers tied their boat
tion in Maine and returned off to the light and were
to the state when the ad- forced to cling to the navi-
visory changed, said the gation aid and call for help
storm was a reminder that when the vessel sank. A
severe weather can strike boat from Coast Guard
the state at any time. station St. Petersburg res-
State emergency man- cued the men.
agement officials also said At 5 p.m. Monday, Em-
that the Sunshine Skyway ily was moving inland
Bridge over Tampa Bay, over west-central Florida
which was closed for a about 30 miles (45 kilome-
few hours y because of ters) northwest of Sebring
high winds, had since re- in south-central Florida.
opened. The storm had Forecasters said Emily was
Members of the Leonard and Wilkins families from North Carolina play floodwater in Fort Myers maximum sustained winds expected to dump be-
Beach, Fla., Monday, July 31, 2017. Tropical Storm Emily weakened to a tropical depression Mon- of 45 mph (75 kph) as it tween 2 to 4 inches (50 to
day afternoon as it slogged eastward across the Florida peninsula, spreading drenching rains,
causing power outages and leaving two fishermen to be rescued from Tampa Bay. crawled ashore but was 100 millimeters) of rain in
(Andrew West/The News-Press via AP) down to top winds of 35 some areas, with isolated
mph (55 kph) hours later. amounts up to 8 inches
No injuries have been re- (200 millimeters) possible in
By TAMARA LUSH spreading drenching rains, Florida’s Gulf Coast south ported along the Gulf spots. Lesser amounts were
Associated Press causing power outages of Tampa Bay and then Coast, although two fish- predicted elsewhere.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — and leaving two fishermen began moving east toward ermen were rescued from On Treasure Island, a barri-
Tropical Storm Emily weak- to be rescued from Tampa the Atlantic coast. Em- Tampa Bay while clinging er island in the Gulf of Mex-
ened to a tropical depres- Bay. ily spent only a few hours to a channel marker light ico west of St. Petersburg,
sion Monday afternoon as The National Hurricane as a tropical storm, losing after their boat sank. a normally packed beach
it slogged eastward across Center said Emily made strength as it marched in- Coast Guard officials said parking lot was almost
the Florida peninsula, landfall late Monday on land across the central Flor- they were called Mon- empty of tourists Monday.
Only a handful of people
were on the white sand
beach and a few body-
surfed small waves in an
area that doesn’t normally
get waves. Some took self-
ies amid a mix of clouds
and patches of blue sky on
the northern fringe of the
storm system.
Kevin Baker, a 53-year-old
retiree who takes his walks
daily at Treasure Island,
said he decided to venture
out despite the storm “to
watch the clouds to go by.
“This morning was pretty
bad. It rained pretty hard.
I got a little leak in my Jeep
even,” said Baker. But
though the weather there
had briefly improved at
midday, he added, “we’re
supposed to get hit again.”
A flood watch is in effect for
much of the Tampa area,
raising the threat of some
scattered street flooding
in low-lying areas. Law en-
forcement agencies urged
motorists to drive with cau-
tion on a day that began
as a miserable Monday
morning commute for
many.q