MIAMI (AFP) - Close to a million residents were ordered to leave their homes along Florida`s east coast as Hurricane Jeanne barreled toward the exhausting distinction of becoming the fourth hurricane to hit the state in the six weeks.
The core of the storm was due to move first over the Abaco Islands in the northwestern Bahamas, bringing battering waves, flash floods and dangerous rip currents, forecasters said.
Virtually the entire Atlantic coast of Florida was under a hurricane warning, with officials warning residents not to let fatigue or complacency hinder preparations ahead of expected landfall sometime before dawn Sunday.
"I know people are frustrated, I know they are tired of all this, trust me their governor is too," Governor Jeb Bush said after evacuation information was issued Friday.
"We cannot afford to treat Jeanne any differently than any of the other hurricanes," said Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas. "You can`t alter your preparations just because it`s the third, fourth or fifth event of the season."
Hurricane Ivan last week left more than 130 dead in the eastern United States and Caribbean nations. Before that, hurricanes Charley and Frances claimed dozens of lives. Thousands of homes have been destroyed.
More than 1,100 perished when Jeanne hit Haiti at tropical-storm strength a week ago, flooding areas in northern Haiti left defenseless by deforestation, population density and poverty.
Jeanne, packing winds of 170 kilometer (105 mile) per hour early Saturday, was due to pass over the northwestern Bahamas on its inexorable march east.
At 0900 GMT the core of the storm was located about 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of Great Abaco Island in the northwestern Bahamas, 385 kilometers (240 miles) east of the southeast Florida coast, early Saturday, the US National Hurricane Center said.
It noted that some Jewish residents observing Yom Kippur might be unaware of the developments because they do not watch television or listen to the radio during the holiday.
"Another storm is headed in that direction. It will be another test of will and compassion," President George W. Bush said Friday.
"We extend our prayers for the people down there. We hope for the very best," he added during a ceremony in Washington. "The federal government, the armies of compassion stand ready to help."
The US National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch along the densely populated Florida east coast from Florida City, south of Miami, northward to St. Augustine, with a hurricane warning in effect for the northwestern Bahamas.
The deadly hurricane was churning toward the west near 23 kilometers per hour (14 miles per hour) a track expected to continue for the next 24 hours.
Some 1,180 people died in floods unleashed by Jeanne in Haiti, while 1,200 others are still missing and feared dead.
In the Dominican Republic, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, authorities said the storm killed 27 people. There were also nine dead in the Bahamas and two in Puerto Rico.