MIAMI, Sept 8 (AFP) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday was expected to visit the disaster area of West Palm Beach, bringing two billion dollars in emergency relief for the victims of Hurricane Frances, the second major storm to hit Florida in less than a month.
While many Floridians welcome the federal disaster aid, they are also wary of Hurricane Ivan in the eastern Caribbean, as the powerful storm could become the third to hit them after Charley last month and Frances at the weekend.
Bush, who on Saturday declared "a major disaster" in Florida -- a key battleground state in the upcoming presidential election -- will likely be joined by his brother and Florida Governor Jeb Bush during his visit. Bush later will visit the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The campaign of Democratic challenger John Kerry, who last month visited the areas damaged by Charley one week after Bush did, was not saying how soon he would visit Florida again.
"A challenger can't really out-photo-op a president on a crisis, or it backfires," said Susan MacManus, a political scientist at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Administration officials have made it clear the approved two billion dollars in federal emergency aid is just the first installment of a larger relief package for Florida envisaged by the White House.
"I anticipate making a further request in the coming days that will provide for a comprehensive response and recovery effort addressing the impact of both of these hurricanes," Bush said in a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Monday.
The supplemental appropriations bill was rushed through by voice vote late Tuesday in the Senate and the House of Representatives. It will enable the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help the victims of Charley and Frances that left billions of dollars in damage in their wake.
"We stand united in our efforts to help those who have lost so much," said Democratic Representative Alcee Hastings, whose district stretches along Florida's Atlantic coastline and is therefore among the most severely hit. "With time and the necessary resources, I am confident that we will recover."
He said Hurricane Frances, which slammed into Florida late Saturday, has destroyed hundreds of homes in his predominantly black district while flooding citrus, sugar and tomato fields in other parts of the state.
The storm has left five people dead according to state officials, but local television attributed at least 13 deaths to the rough weather.
More than 1.8 million customers remained without power as of late Tuesday, and over 9,600 people -- mostly those whose homes have been destroyed or damaged -- remained in emergency shelters throughout the state, the officials said.
"For the millions who have been affected, life has come to a standstill," Hastings said.
The National Guard has called up 4,100 troops in Florida, as well as thousands in other nearby states to help distribute supplies and to assist police in maintaining law and order.
Meanwhile, some 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) away, Hurricane Ivan threatened Caribbean islands, where residents were urged to rush preparations to safeguard their lives and property.
Early Wednesday, the center of the powerful hurricane, after knocking out power in Barbados, was located 340 kilometers (210 miles) west of Grenada.
A hurricane warning remained in effect for Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, as Ivan churned westward at 26 kilometers (16 miles) per hour.
The National Hurricane Center said Ivan, packing sustained winds near 220 kilometers (140 miles) per hour, could fluctuate in strength but remained a formidable storm with hurricane-force winds extending outward from its center up to 110 kilometers (70 miles).
"Indications are that there will be a very dangerous hurricane over the northwestern Caribbean sea, western Cuba or the southeastern Gulf of Mexico in five days," the NHC said.
This would bring the storm dangerously close to Florida.