Florida braces for ‘life-threatening storm surge’ as Eta re-intensifies

Eta has regained hurricane strength off the southwestern coast of Florida and was expected to make landfall on Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

On Wednesday, the Category 1 hurricane was about 270 km south-southwest of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 120 kph, the NHC added.

Forecasters at the NHC in Miami issued a hurricane watch for a 193-kilometre stretch that includes Tampa and St Petersburg. 

The storm has been in the Gulf of Mexico since crossing over South Florida on Sunday.

The latest hurricane watch extends from Anna Maria Island, which is south of St Petersburg, to Yankeetown.

NHC said "life-threatening storm surge" is possible early on Thursday, and forecasters advised residents to heed warnings from local officials. 

READ MORE: Threat to Florida eases as Isaias remains tropical storm

'Never seen this'

Tropical storm winds are expected in the area by late Wednesday.

Forecasts call for more rain from the storm system over parts of already drenched South Florida.

"Never seen this, never, not this deep," said Anthony Lyas, who has lived in his now-waterlogged Fort Lauderdale neighbourhood since 1996. 

He described hearing water and debris slamming against his shuttered home overnight as the storm crossed Florida.

Busy hurricane season

The storm first hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and killed nearly 70 people from Mexico to Panama, before moving into the Gulf of Mexico early on Monday near where the Everglades meet the sea, with maximum sustained winds of 85 kph.

"It was far worse than we could’ve ever imagined, and we were prepared," said Arbie Walker, a 27-year-old student whose Fort Lauderdale apartment was filled with 13 to 15 centimetres of water.

There was nowhere for the water to go across much of South Florida, which had already experienced nearly 35 centimetres of rain in October.

Busy Atlantic hurricane season

Eta hit land late on Sunday as it blew over Lower Matecumbe, in the middle of the chain of small islands that form the Keys, but the heavily populated areas of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties bore the brunt of the fury.

It was the 28th named storm of a busy Atlantic hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. 

And late on Monday, it was followed by the 29th storm, Theta.

The US NHC in Miami said Theta broke the record of 28 named storms in 2005. Theta was centered on Wednesday morning about 1,190 kilometres southwest of the Azores, bearing top sustained winds of 100 kph as that system moved east-northeast at 13 kph.

READ MORE: Eta makes landfall on Cuba as Guatemala searches for victims