MIAMI, July 9 (UPI) -- Major home-supply chains loaded trucks with plywood, generators and other hurricane necessities as they waited to see where Hurricane Dennis would strike.
The hurricane was churning across the Gulf Coast Saturday, expected to come ashore in the western Florida panhandle or Alabama by Sunday evening.
At noon EDT, Dennis was about 120 miles west-southwest of Key West, Fla., moving northwest at 14 mph with top winds exceeding 100 mph.
Lowe's and Home Depot were not the only companies keeping an eye on Dennis's path, the Miami Herald reported.
Cruise lines rerouted some ships, adding or changing ports of call. The largest shifts were expected to be in cruises leaving from Tampa and other west Florida coast ports and Mobile, Ala.
Airlines had resumed normal service to Jamaica after canceling flights as Dennis moved around the Caribbean killing at least 20 people in Haiti and Jamaica.
Dennis seemed likely to delay some real-estate transactions since major insurers stop writing new homeowners' policies when hurricane watches or warnings are in effect.
