WORLD> America
Fay may strengthen and hit Florida again
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-20 16:01

"It's very seldom we're hoping for a hurricane, but we are," said Randy Branch, a farmer in southeast Georgia where lingering drought has left about a third of his cotton and peanut crops bare this summer.

"We need some rain pretty bad."

National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Letro said it's possible southern Georgia could receive 10 to 20 inches of rain - enough to cause severe flooding - if it makes a second landfall.

"I know people hate drought, but when you're talking about a tropical cyclone relieving drought conditions, be careful what you wish for," said Letro, the chief meteorologist in Jacksonville, Fla.

In Duval County, which surrounds Jacksonville, officials prepared shelters, cleared drainage areas that could flood and readied emergency response teams. Public schools canceled Wednesday and Thursday classes, and mobile home residents were encouraged to find sturdier shelter.

"Our biggest concern is complacency. Jacksonville has a history of being shielded from storm systems. While we don't want anyone to panic, we want everyone in the area to take this storm seriously," said Misty Skipper, a county spokeswoman.

In Georgia's southeastern corner, Camden County had public works crews cleaning out storm drains and ditches in preparation for possible flooding. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency also began 24-hour operations Tuesday afternoon to monitor the storm.

A National Hurricane Center forecast late Tuesday projected that the storm's path would take it through Alabama over the weekend. However, projections varied widely, prompting some in South Carolina to hope for crop-sating rain.

"I just came in from the fields. Everything is burning up," said Belton, S.C., farmer Charles Campbell. "If a storm is brewing down there, just send it up I-26."

Fay formed over the weekend in the Atlantic and was blamed for 20 deaths in the Caribbean before hitting Florida's southwest coast, where it fell short of predictions it could be a Category 1 hurricane when it came ashore.