MIAMI, USA (AP) - Tropical Storm Katrina threatened to dump more than a foot (33 centimetres) of rain on parts of water-logged Florida as it approached the state yesterday, with forecasters expecting it to strengthen to a weak hurricane before hitting the coast. Katrina was expected to strike Florida's east coast early tomorrow. Many in the area - hit by two hurricanes last year - didn't seem too worried about the slow-moving storm whose worst threat appeared to be flooding. Hardware stores noticed a slight increase in sales, but there didn't appear to be a crush of customers looking for plywood, water and other supplies. A 150-mile (240-kilometre) stretch of Florida's coast including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Vero Beach was under a hurricane watch, meaning sustained winds of at least 74 mph were possible by tomorrow. Katrina formed yesterday over the Bahamas and was expected to cross Florida before heading into the Gulf of Mexico. It could dump 6-12 inches (15-30 centimeters) of rain in the state, with some spots getting up to 20 inches (50 centimetres). National Hurricane Centre meteorologist Eric Blake said residents of threatened areas should consider putting up hurricane shutters, particularly in coastal and exposed areas. Storm surge flooding of 3 to 5 feet (10 to 15 metres) topped by battering waves is expected. "I don't think anybody is really terribly concerned about this one because it looks like it's going to be a tropical storm," said Jean Dowling, vice president of a residents' association. "Now if it turns into a full-fledged hurricane, then you're going to see some scurrying." Because of Katrina, Governor Jeb Bush cancelled a business trip to Peru that was to begin Wednesday and planned to return to Florida from Virginia, where he was attending a hearing on military base realignment. At 2:00 pm, the season's 11th named storm had top sustained winds of 45 mph (72 km/h). It was centred about 200 miles east-southeast of Miami and was moving north-northwest at eight mph (13 km/h). The Florida Panhandle was hit by Tropical Storm Cindy and Hurricane Dennis earlier this year. Early indications were that Dennis caused about $2 billion (euro1.64 billion) in total damage. Last year's four hurricanes caused an estimated $46 billion (euro37.7 billion) in damage across the country. In an average year, only a few tropical storms develop by this time in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends November 30. Yesterday was also the 13th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew's landfall in the Miami area. It was the most expensive natural disaster in US history. Reprinted from jamaicaobserver.com