Hurricane Dennis has hit the US coast but has caused far less damage than Hurricane Ivan on nearly the same path 10 months ago.
The hurricane had been a category four storm with winds of 145-mph, but it weakened just before it struck less than 50 miles east of where Ivan came ashore, and it has now been downgraded to a tropical storm.
Dennis, which was responsible for at least 20 deaths in Cuba and Haiti, spared those to the north because of its relatively small size and fast pace.
Hurricane winds stretched only 40 miles from the centre, compared with 105 miles for Ivan, and Dennis tore through at nearly 20 mph, compared to Ivan's 13 mph.
Despite downed power lines and cuts affecting more than half a million people, early reports indicated no deaths and relatively modest structural damage.
Over 1.8 million people from Florida to Mississippi had been urged to evacuate.
Dennis became the fifth hurricane to strike Florida in less than 11 months, and President George Bush soon declared the state a major federal disaster along with Alabama and Mississippi.
AP