BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Tropical storm Ernesto which drenched eastern Cuba on Monday edged closer to Florida with even greater power and then could regain hurricane strength and hit Florida's most populous region.

    Ernesto was expected Tuesday to re-intensify into a category two hurricane with winds in excess of 74 mph as it crossed the warm waters of the Florida Straits heading for a landfall anywhere from Key West to Miami.

    Tourists and mobile home residents have been evacuated from the Florida Keys, the 150-mile, low-lying island chain.

    Ernesto's storm system was buffeted by the mountainous regions of southeastern Cuba earlier Monday, and its maximum sustained winds dropped to about 40 mph from 50, the National Hurricane Center said. Once over water again, Ernesto will gain power and have winds of as much as 95 mph when it reaches southeastern Florida on the morning of Aug. 30.

    Ernesto, the fifth named storm of the June-to-November Atlantic basin hurricane season, formed just before the Aug. 29 anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the Gulf Coast. That storm became the worst U.S. natural disaster in history, leaving over 1,300 people dead and displacing more than 1 million others. 

    Battered by eight hurricanes in two years, Florida is prepared for the pounding one year after Hurricane Katrina that also struck the states of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama and other coastal areas.

    Florida's government declared a state of emergency and television stations cranked up coverage with reminders to fill bathtubs with water and to put up hurricane shutters.

    Florida Governor Jeb Bush reassured residents there would be no fuel shortages and urged them not to overreact by rushing to the pumps.  Enditem

    (Agencies)

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