Friday, September 10th, 2004 — If Hurricane Ivan continues along its expected path and strikes near Florida’s Tampa/St. Petersburg metropolitan area as a Category 4 or 5 storm, insured losses could exceed $35 billion, a catastrophe modeling firm said Friday. Oakland, Calif.-based EQECAT Inc. noted, though, that with at least four days before possible landfall in Florida, many aspects of the storm could change significantly, including its path and strength.
Ivan, currently a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, was expected to hit Jamaica Friday night or Saturday morning and then move slowly between the Cayman Islands and Cuba before reaching the Florida Keys as early as Monday. Mandatory evacuations in the Keys were ordered Thursday, the day Ivan pounded Grenada, resulting in at least 23 deaths and the destruction of most of the buildings on the island.