PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) - Residents and tourists in cars, trucks and campers clogged highways along the state's Atlantic coast on Thursday, fleeing inland as mighty Hurricane Frances threatened Florida with its second battering in three weeks.About 2.5 million residents were told to clear out - the biggest evacuation request in state history - ahead of what could be the most powerful storm to hit Florida in a decade. Other people in the 300-mile stretch covered by a hurricane warning rushed to fortify their homes with plywood and storm shutters, and buy water, gas and canned food.
Already a Category 4 storm with 145-mph winds and the potential to push ashore waves up to 15 feet high, Frances could make itself felt in the state by midmorning Friday.
At 2 p.m. EDT, the hurricane was centered 410 miles southeast of West Palm Beach and was moving at close to 13 mph.
