MIAMI - Thousands of people remained without power and hundreds of stalled vehicles sat on still-flooded roadways Thursday as South Florida began drying out after a two-day storm dumped more than 18 inches of rain.
Most schools were open, but 15 stayed shut with flooded grounds or no power. The state of emergency imposed by Gov. Jeb Bush remained in effect. President Clinton declared four counties disaster areas, eligible for federal help. James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is to visit the region Friday.
Miami-Dade County officials reported more than 93,000 homes and an unknown number of businesses stood in flooded neighborhoods and two people were killed by the storm.
''Mother Nature, a lot of hardworking people and a lot of pumps are getting us back to some sense of normalcy,'' said Lt. Louie Fernandez of the Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Department.
State agriculture officials said Miami-Dade farmers suffered $500 million in crop losses. The governor released $100,000 in state funds to assist farmworkers, suddenly out of work because of flooding.
About 2,600 homes and businesses remained without power, Florida Power and Light reported. Spokesman Bill Swank said many of those were served by buried lines and restoring all power might take days. At its worst, the flooding left about 92,000 customers without service.
The storm moved well into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday where it strengthened and became Tropical Storm Leslie as sustained winds reached 39 mph. Forecasters say it could reach Bermuda this weekend but is not expected to become a hurricane.
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On the Net:
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
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