10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 16, 2004 NEWS Hurricane Ivan targets Alabama, tit could creat MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Hurricane Ivan and its 135- mph winds churned toward this historic port city with frightening intensity yesterday as the storm began its assault on the Gulf Coast, lashing the region with heavy rain and ferocious wind, spawning monster waves that toppled beach houses and spinning off deadly tornadoes. The storm was expected to make landfall early today near Mobile and could swamp the coastline with a 16-foot storm surge and up to 15 inches of rain. Ivan offered a daylong preview of its destruction as it took aim at the coast: sheets of rain across the region, a series of tornadoes, and escalating winds that shred- ded signs, knocked out power and made traffic lights and oak trees whipsaw. "We have never seen a hurricane of this size come into Alabama," said Gov. Bob Riley, who earlier asked President Bush to declare much of the state a disaster area. An 11th-hour shift turned Ivan away from New Orleans, but the sheer size of the storm could create catastrophic flooding in the bowl-shaped city. Offi- cials warned that the levees and pumping stations that normally hold back the water may not be enough to protect the below-sea-level city. In the Florida Panhandle near Panama City, tor- nadoes produced by the storm killed two people and trapped others in the rubble of their damaged homes. Several people were injured and more than 70 homes were damaged. e catastrophic "We have a report from a deputy that it looks like a uated her1 war zone," said sheriffs spokeswoman Ruth Sasser. school ca Hurricane-force winds extended out 105 miles prayer tha from the Category 4 storm, threatening widespread here," she damage no matter where it strikes. After reaching One pot land, Ivan threatened to stall over the Southeast and cane, Ala. southern Appalachians, with a potential for as much Mobile .. .nnw ...r _ flooding home in Mobile and found shelter in a high feteria. "Say a prayer, say a prayer, say a at I'll have some place to go when I leave said. "We'll see in the morning." tential target of Ivan is the tiny town of Hurri- ,where the storm surge could be the highest. bar owner Lori Hunter said her business main closed "until the landlord takes the as 20 inches of rain. At 11 p.m. last night, Ivan was centered about 65 miles south of the Alabama coast and was mov- ing north at 12 mph. The storm, which plowed through the Carib- bean, has now killed at least 70 people in all. Ivan's waves - some up to 25 feet - were already destroying homes along the Florida coast yesterday. Twelve-foot waves boomed ashore at Gulf Shores, would rer "We're stay Terrorists but not a I Owner of bar boards down off the windows." ring. "We're staying," she said. "I'm ..' * from New York. This is my first scare me one. Terrorists scare me but not a hurricane." hurricane." As the storm drew near, streets along Mississippi's Gulf Coast .r n were all but deserted, and miles - Lori Hunter of homes and businesses, includ- r in Mobile, Ala. ing its 12 floating casinos, were boarded up. Only patrol cars and an occasional luggage-packed car or van could be seen passing Gulfport's "Welcome to the Gulf Coast" billboard. New Orleans scrambled to get people out of harm's way, putting the frail and elderly in the cavernous Louisiana Superdome and urging others to move to higher floors in tall buildings. "If we turn up dead tomorrow, it's my fault," said Jane Allinder, who stayed stubbornly behind at her daughter's French Quarter doll shop to keep an eye on her cat. Ala., eroding the beach. A buoy about 300 miles south of Panama City registered waves over 34 feet high. In Mobile, majestic oaks that line the streets swayed in gusting winds as the city of some 200,000 braced for a hurricane expected to be even more destructive than Frederic, which killed five people 25 years ago. At least 11,000 people crowded into 95 shelters across Alabama, and thousands more went to homes of relatives and friends. Betty Sigler, a 57-year-old substitute teacher, evac- e Nancy McDaniel of Pensacola, Fla., fights against wind and driving rain on her way back to her car after coming down to a pier last night to check out the surf as It began to be churned up by the approach of Hurricane Ivan. We were named one of Fortune®magazine's " Companies To Work For." And you can bet it wasn't because of the free coffee. Job perks are great. And at Ernst & Young we happen to think the most important ones are those that help our employees grow. That's why we've given them access to some of the best professional development programs in the country. As well as the opportunity to work on some of the most prestigious brands in the world. In turn, Fortune magazine recognized us as one of the "100 Best Companies To Work For" six years in a row. So if you're looking for a great place to work, look for us on campus. Maybe we can grab a cup of coffee. 100 BEST COMPANIES g TO WORK FOR° I Trial for U.S. ship's. bombing conclude SAN'A, Yemen (AP) - A trial into the almost four-year-old bombing of warship U.S.S. Cole in Aden Harbor that killed 17 Navy sailors concluded yesterday with prosecutors seeking the death penalty for six defendants. The six defendants, including a Saudi in U.S. custody who is being tried in absentia, are the first people to be tried in the attack,hcarried out by two suicide bombers in an explosives laden boat on Oct. 12, 2000. The men are charged with belong- ing to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, forming an armed gang with the purpose of carrying out crimes against the state, resisting authorities and forging documents. The judge adjourned the trial until Sept. 29, when he will issue his verdict. If convicted, the men face between 15 years in jail and the death pen- alty. The death sentence is considered unlikely because the defendants are not accused of being the actual bombers. In closing arguments, the pros- ecution demanded that the maximum sentence be issued against the defen- dants, but defense counsel rejected the charges. The five accused in court, all Yemenis, are Jamal al-Badawi, Maamoun Msouh, Fahd al-Qasa, Ali Mohamed Saleh and Murad al- Sirouri. None have ever formally entered pleas. A sixth defendant, Saudi-born alleged mastermind of the Cole attack Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, is in U.S. custody at an undisclosed location. The United States announced al- Nashiri's arrest in 2002. He was detained in the United Arab Emirates and transferred to American custody. U.S. officials believe he is a close asso- ciate of Saudi-born bin Laden, who is believed to have masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. In addition to the Cole attack, al- Nashiri is suspected of helping direct the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The Cole attack was carried out by suicide bombers identified by the court as Yemenis Ibrahim al-Thawr and Abdullah al-Misawa, who rammed an explosives-laden boat into the destroy- er as it refueled in the southern Yemeni port of Aden. The attack was blamed on al-Qaida and sparked a manhunt in this conser- vative, tribal-dominated nation locat- ed at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula long known for tolerating Islamic extremists. rd I1 , r 6 t I