Tropical storm Rita heads for Florida Keys

MIAMI - Traffic streamed out of the vulnerable Florida Keys today as Tropical Storm Rita strengthened near the islands and threatened to power its way into the Gulf of Mexico three weeks after Hurricane Katrina cut a deadly path through the region.

Rita was likely to become a major hurricane with winds of at least 178 kph as it drew strength from warm Gulf waters after passing over the Florida Keys on Tuesday, said Max Mayfield, director the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

Rita's Centre was about 610 km east-southeast of Key West, Florida, at 2pm Monday (6am Tuesday NZT). It was racing west-northwest at 23 kph and had top winds of 115 kph, putting it just short of hurricane strength.

Mayfield cautioned the storm still could veer north to the Miami metropolitan area, home to 2.3 million people. Miami-Dade County officials urged residents to evacuate mobile homes, barrier islands and flood-prone areas.

"The main impact we think will be on the Florida Keys but this is just cutting it too close," Mayfield said.

Authorities in the Keys, a 177-km chain of islands connected to the south Florida mainland by a single two-lane highway, ordered everyone to leave the island chain, which has about 80,000 year-round residents.

Rita was expected to drench the Keys with 25 to 38 cm of rain and push several feet of seawater over the islands, possibly flooding the highway and stranding those who remained behind.

- REUTERS