Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Jeanne pummeled Florida, a record fourth hurricane to hit in one season, with sheets of rain and winds of up to 115 miles per hour, ripping off roofs, sending debris flying and toppling trees and power lines.

Hundreds of thousands of people in southern Florida were left in the dark, many of whom just had their power restored after the last hurricane, Agence France-Presse said. Callers telephoned radio stations and emergency services to say their houses were coming apart as Jeanne pounded the state, AFP said.

``They are really going to get clobbered up there,'' Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in the southern Florida city of Miami was quoted as saying in the Miami Herald newspaper. As many as 3 million people had been ordered to evacuate the area as Jeanne approached, AFP reported.

The center of the hurricane was located about 15 miles east of Stuart Florida, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported at 11 p.m. East Coast time. Jeanne is moving at 13 miles per hour (22 kilometers) slightly north of west and a gradual turn toward the northwest was forecast for the next 24 hours and across central Florida, the agency said.

Jeanne, which hit northwestern Bahamas a day earlier after devastating Haiti last week, will begin to weaken as the center moves inland in the U.S. Parts of southeastern Florida were under a flood warning, and officials were concerned the storm would spawn potentially deadly tornadoes.

The last time three hurricanes hit Florida was 40 years ago. The record for hurricanes hitting the U.S. in a single year is six, in 1916 and 1985, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Forecasters started keeping official records in 1851.

Weary Florida

Before Jeanne, there were hurricanes Frances and Charley. A week ago, Hurricane Ivan battered Florida's panhandle as it crossed the U.S. coast in nearby Alabama. The storms have cost Florida billions of dollars in damage and lost tourism.

Ivan last week killed more than 130 people in the eastern U.S. and Caribbean nations. Before that, Charley and Frances killed dozens and destroyed thousands of homes after slamming into Florida's southeastern coast.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush asked his brother, U.S. President George Bush, to declare the state a disaster zone for the fourth time in six weeks to ``help us expedite additional support,'' AFP reported. Two weeks ago, President Bush declared parts of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina disaster areas after Ivan's strike.

Jeanne's force winds were recorded up to 70 miles from the center. ``Stronger winds especially in gusts are likely to occur on high rise buildings,'' according to the National Hurricane Center. Debris and downed trees remained from the last hurricanes.

Jeanne could damage as many as 1 million buildings and displace members of 223,000 households, the Miami Herald reported. The storm was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, making it a major hurricane on the five-tier Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. It's capable of producing an ocean surge as much as 12 feet above normal and causing structural damage to small homes.

The U.S. Coast Guard shut the Port of Miami and the Miami River, Port Everglades, Port Palm Beach and Port Canaveral. The agency planned to close five more as a ``proactive measure'' to minimize the chances of damage, it said in a statement.

`Stretched'

Last week, Jeanne wrecked Haiti as a tropical storm and is blamed for the deaths of 1,500 people there, with 900 still missing, the Associated Press said. Jeanne then veered north into the open Atlantic Ocean before making a loop and heading toward the Bahamas. The government of Bahamas has downgraded Jeanne to a tropical storm.

Jeanne may cause $4 billion to $7 billion of insured damage in Florida, said Eqecat Inc., which uses computer models to predict damages. Charley, which swept across Florida last month, cost insurers an estimated $6.8 billion, according Property Claims Services, which analyzes claims. Frances caused as much as $6 billion when it hit Florida three weeks later.

Florida Power & Light Co., a subsidiary of FPL Group Inc., said before Jeanne hit that some residents may be without power for as long as three weeks following the storm, as the state searches for out-of-state linemen and tree trimmers to help restore service.

``Our resources are clearly stretched,'' Armando Olivera, president of Florida Power and Light, said in a news conference the previous day.

There were 2,500 out-of-state workers in Florida, and utilities in neighboring states were withholding crews until they know the extent of damage in their own areas, officials said. Calls had been placed to utilities as far away as Chicago and California, Olivera said.

Florida Governor Bush promised speedy aid to those affected by the storm.

``There is support, and there is hope coming to the people who are going to be impacted by this storm,'' Bush said. ``It'll be quick, and it'll be sustained.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Michele Batchelor in Hong Kong mbatchelor@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 26, 2004 00:42 EDT