Gert and Harvey
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from September 1999.
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The government of Bermuda issued a hurricane warning Monday as forecasters warned of high, battering waves and a storm surge of up to 3 feet. Residents began stocking up on supplies and police were placed on alert.
"It's a threat to Bermuda. It's a strong storm," said public safety minister Paula Cox.
The last time Bermuda suffered major damage from a hurricane was in 1987, when Hurricane Emily hit the island, moved offshore, then struck again. At 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), Gert was 310 miles south-southeast of Bermuda and moving to the north-northwest at about 9 mph. Top sustained wind blew at 120 mph, with some weakening expected in the next 24 hours.
In the Gulf of Mexico, a tropical depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Harvey late Sunday. By Monday afternoon its top sustained wind had increased to near 60 mph, and some further strengthening was possible. It would become a hurricane if sustained wind reached 74 mph.
A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch were posted for much of Florida's western coast, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the state's east coast from near Jupiter Inlet to south of Flagler Beach.
At 2 p.m. EDT, the center of Harvey was 190 miles west-southwest of St. Petersburg. The storm was moving east-northeast at 7 mph.
