Tropical storm Fay extended her stay in Florida today making landfall for a record fourth time as she trudged across the state's northern panhandle and took aim at points west including New Orleans.
At 8am (1200 GMT) today the center of the storm was about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Panama City in Florida's Panhandle.
Fay, which threatened to become a hurricane but never became one as it advanced across the Caribbean and the Florida Keys, has already been blamed for eight deaths in Florida.
Before pounding Florida, the storm killed more than 50 people in the Caribbean, mostly in Haiti where a crowded bus was swept away by a rain-swollen river.
Fay, the sixth storm of what experts predict will be a busy Atlantic hurricane season, was moving west at 7 miles per hour (11 kph) and packing sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm briefly returned to the Gulf of Mexico but turned inland at 2am EDT (0600 GMT).
The storm was expected to continue its westward trek over the next 24 hours.
Tropical storm watches have been posted as far west as New Orleans, which bore the brunt of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
On Friday, Florida Governor Charlie Crist requested major federal disaster aid for counties along Florida's east coast.
The request would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make payments to individual homeowners, businesses and local governments.
Flood damage is expected to be the storm legacy. Fay dumped more than 20 inches (50 cm) of rain in places, including Port Canaveral, home of the US space shuttle fleet. High water made it difficult for rescue workers to reach some storm victims until floodwaters subsided.
Cleanup efforts have already begun farther south in the Florida Keys and Southwest Florida where the storm made its first contact with the state last week.
"A lot of us certainly are suffering from Fay fatigue, but we've got to stay focused," Crist told reporters on Friday.
The state has also asked the US Department of Labor for $20 million for humanitarian aid, temporary employment and grants of up to $5,000 to help businesses get back on their feet.
An electrical worker in Tallahassee was killed on Friday afternoon while trying to restore power to residents. The worker became the eighth Fay fatality in Florida.
On Friday, Mr Crist said seven deaths had been caused by Fay, including those of two women who drowned in heavy surf on Thursday in separate incidents along beaches off the state's Atlantic coast.
The other deaths occurred in traffic accidents and an incident in which a man died of carbon monoxide poisoning while testing two power generators.
Reuters