Posted on 08/14/2004 1:42:49 AM PDT by kattracks
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - The death toll from Hurricane Charley rose early Saturday, when a county official said there had a been "a number of fatalities" at a mobile home park and deputies were standing guard over stacks of bodies because the area was inaccessible to ambulances.Wayne Sallade, Charlotte County's director of emergency management, said early Saturday that there were "a number of fatalities" at the mobile home park, and that there were confirmed deaths in at least three other areas in the county.
The eye of the worst hurricane to hit Florida in a dozen years passed directly over Punta Gorda, a town of 15,000 which took a devastating hit Friday.
Hundreds of people were missing and more were left homeless, said Sallade, who compared the devastation to 1992's Hurricane Andrew, blamed for 43 deaths, most in South Florida.
"It's Andrew all over again," he said. "We believe there's significant loss of life."
Sallade did not have an estimate on a specific number of fatalities. He said it may take days to get a final toll.
Extensive damage was also reported on exclusive Captiva Island, a narrow strip of sand west of Fort Myers.
President Bush (news - web sites) declared a major disaster area in Florida, making federal money available to Charlotte, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties. One million customers were reported without power statewide, including all of Hardee County and Punta Gorda.
The Category 4 storm was stronger than expected when the eye reached the mainland at Charlotte Harbor, pummeling the coast with winds reaching 145 mph and a surge of sea water of 13 to 15 feet.
Charley was forecast to spread sustained winds of about 40 mph to 60 mph across inland portions of eastern North Carolina and to dump 3 to 6 inches of rain beginning Saturday morning, forecasters said. Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency.
In South Carolina, roads clogged Friday night as tourists and residents of the state's Grand Strand — beaches and high-dollar homes and hotels — heeded a mandatory evacuation order. Gov. Mark Sanford had urged voluntary evacuation earlier Friday.
At Charlotte Regional Medical Center in Punta Gorda, 40 people sought treatment for storm injuries. The hospital was so badly damaged that patients were transferred to other hospitals.
"We can't keep patients here," CEO Josh Putter said. "Every roof is damaged, lots of water damage, half our windows are blown out."
Among those seeking treatment was Marty Rietveld, showered with broken glass when the sliding glass door at his home was smashed by a neighbor's roof that blew off. Rietveld broke his leg, and his future son-in-law suffered a punctured leg artery.
"We are moving," said Rietveld's daughter, Stephanie Rioux. "We are going out of state."
At least 20 patients with storm injuries were reported at a hospital in Fort Myers.
A crash on Interstate 75 in Sarasota County killed one person, and a wind gust caused a truck to collide with a car in Orange County, killing a young girl. A man who stepped outside his house to smoke a cigarette died when a banyan tree fell on him in Fort Myers, authorities said.
At the Charlotte County Airport, wind tore apart small planes, and one flew down the runway as if it were taking off. The storm spun a parked pickup truck 180 degrees, blew the windows out of a sheriff's deputy's car and ripped the roof off an 80-foot-by 100-foot building.
Martin said he saw homes ripped apart at two trailer parks.
"There were four or five overturned semi trucks — 18-wheelers — on the side of the road," he said.
In Desoto County outside Arcadia, several dead cows, wrapped in barbed wire, littered the roadside.
The hurricane rapidly gained strength in the Gulf of Mexico after crossing Cuba and swinging around the Florida Keys as a more moderate Category 2 storm Friday morning. An estimated 1.4 million people evacuated in anticipation of the strongest hurricane to strike Florida since Andrew in 1992.
Charley reached landfall at 3:45 p.m. EDT, when the eye passed over barrier islands off Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, some 110 miles southeast of the Tampa Bay area.
Charley hit the mainland 30 minutes later, with storm surge flooding of 10 to 15 feet, the hurricane center said. Nearly 1 million people live within 30 miles of the landfall.
The state put 5,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen on alert to help deal with the storm, but only 1,300 had been deployed by Friday night, a state emergency management spokeswoman said.
At a nursing center in Port Charlotte, Charley broke windows and ripped off portions of the roof, but none of the more than 100 residents or staff was injured, administrator Joyce Cuffe said.
"The doors were being sucked open," Cuffe said. "A lot of us were holding the doors, trying to keep them shut, using ropes, anything we could to hold the doors shut. There was such a vacuum, our ears and head were hurting."
At 2 a.m. EDT, the center of the storm was in the Atlantic Ocean, about 190 miles south-southwest of Charleston, S.C., and moving north-northeast at 25 mph. Forecasters expected Charley to increase in speed. Maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph with higher gusts.
The center was expected to approach the South Carolina coast Saturday morning. A hurricane warning remained in effect from Cocoa Beach, northward to Oregon Inlet, N.C., and a tropical storm warning was in effect on the North Carolina and Virginia Coasts north of Oregon Inlet to Chincoteague, including the lower Chesapeake Bay south of Smith Point.
Spared the worst of the storm was the Tampa Bay area, where about a million people had been told to leave their homes. Some drove east, only to find themselves in the path of the Charley.
"I feel like the biggest fool," said Robert Angel of Tarpon Springs, who sought safety in a motel. "I spent hundreds of dollars to be in the center of a hurricane. Our home is safe, but now I'm in danger."
The fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Danielle, formed Friday but posed no immediate concern to land. The fifth may form as early as Saturday and threaten islands in the southeastern Caribbean Sea.
___
Associated Press writers Mark Long in Fort Myers, Ken Thomas in Key West, Mitch Stacy and Brendan Farrington in Tampa, Vickie Chachere in Sarasota, Mike Branom and Mike Schneider in Orlando and Bruce Smith in Charleston, S.C., contributed to this report.
These are inland areas. The damage in the Port Charlotte area must be horrific.
According to Fox, Punta Gorda has asked for 60 body bags. That may not be the number of dead, but it certainly woudl be an indicator of a large loss of life. One mobile home park had 100 units and no one can get to it, but bodies are seen lying outside.
I hope this is not as bad as it is shaping up to be.
Date: Thursday, August 12, 2004 Time: 8:12:01 PM
Low Lying Areas Strongly Urged to Evacuate
Residents in the following areas are strongly urged to consider evacuating their homes by daylight Friday in advance of Hurricane Charley. The strengthening storm is now forecast to produce a storm surge of up to 10 feet above normal tide levels. Those areas of Charlotte County below 8 foot elevation and subject to the worst flooding threat include: EAST PUNTA GORDA AND SOLONA DOWNTOWN PUNTA GORDA PUNTA GORDA’S HISTORIC DISTRICT RIVERSIDE DRIVE, PUNTA GORDA THE EDGEWATER CORRIDOR, PORT CHARLOTTE BAYSHORE ROAD, MELBOURNE STREET & HARBORVIEW ROAD, CHARLOTTE HARBOR BURNT STORE ROAD, PUNTA GORDA PIRATE HARBOR, PUNTA GORDA EL JOBEAN AND THE CAPE HAZE AREA IN WESTERN CHARLOTTE COUNTY Evacuation is MANDATORY for Charlotte County’s barrier islands and for anyone in an RV or mobile home.
That is absolutely not true. It was a strong Cat2 after it went over Cuba, and was predicted to strengthen to at least a Cat3 over the warm Gulf waters before hitting the west coast of FL.
No one told them to evacuate. Everyone expects to be taken care of now. And the tab goes straight into the deficit, do not pass Go... They did a study once. One group, weather forcasters. Second group, old farmers. Studied their accuracy predicting weather. Equal.
I survived the eye wall of Hurricane Camille (anemometer at Kessler AFB, Biloxi, quit working and froze at 227Mph), and many here partied on in trailers, and in beach houses. Many died.
Our government can only warn and educate, but it is up to the individual to let some of this knowledge sink in. I am very sad for our countrymen in Florida. I will continue to pray for them all.
LLS
I'm sure there are people in the Tampa area doing that now, but so far few people in the press are listening. I did see a quote from a man who felt stupid because he evacuated Tampa and went to Orlando. Well, HELLO! The storm has been predicted to cross Florida for several days now.
I am currently still officially under a hurricane warning, even though Charley has passed here now.
Yesterday at noon we were right on the path. After the jog west, predictions showed the storm going west of us, but we kept preparing, because it could have just as easily moved a tiny bit easterly and hit us. Wasn't predicted to, but Hugo was predicted to hit us rather than SC up until late afternoon the day it hit.
We spent several hours in traffic evacuating from Floyd, which didn't hit here. Even as it was obviously passing offshore, the local weather people were continuing to hype it, however. I have trouble believing that local weather people somewhere downplayed a storm - usually it's their big moment and they play it for all it's worth.
According to MSNBC:
(1) People in the trailer parks in Punta Gorda were told evacuate 24 hours ago.
(2) However the models all had the storm going 70 miles to the north.
(3) Gov Bush has suggested some "hurricane amnesia" since there hasn't been a major hurricane in so many years, and didn't take it seriously.
There is some truth is what everyone is saying regarding the loss of life and "who was at fault.". Lots of borderline judgments went the wrong direction.
" I will show you the messages from yesterday that people were not given evacuation orders until just before this thing hit."
you're nuts. I live down in the keys, and followed this closely, since I was considering leaving with my infant daughter. Mandatory evacuations were in place for Sanibel, Captiva, all of the barrier islands, mobile home parks, low-lying areas, etc etc on THURSDAY. Mobile homes are ALWAYS mandatory evacuation areas for a hurricane. Anyone who stayed tragically thought the storm was going to pass by, but it wasn't like they weren't warned. They were.
For those with short memories, Homestead was not the projected landfall area of Andrew, either. Miami was. Andrew turned south at the last minute, just like this storm turned east.
Quit trying to find some sinister government conspiracy to kill people in this tragic disaster. It is a natural disaster. They happen. Mother nature doesn't know about computer models. She acts as she wishes.
That's exactly what they've been saying most of the night and this morning.
Because they don't know yet?
Here's a hint: perhaps you should wait before you speak on this one, since you obviously aren't on the ground there.
Let me correct that... 24 hours in advance.
By NOAA
While Celia, which caused damage from July 31 to August 5 1970, paled in strength comparisons with other storms (it was only a Category 3 at its peak), it introduced an aspect of hurricanes previously thought to be impossible - incredible wind gusts that far exceed the hurricane's winds. With winds of 130 mph and wind gusts estimated as high as 180, Celia gave the Coastal Bend a taste of the massive destruction that can occur with hurricanes.
The final estimate of damage was placed at $453 million dollars. In terms of today's dollars, the estimate would be closer to $1.83 billion dollars. Celia killed 31 people and cause 466 injuries, a small amount when compared to the damage caused to housing structures - it could have been far worse.
To the people who experienced Celia, it was a storm they will never forget. The wind gusts were confined to small areas "looking almost like a tiger's claw" over the city of Corpus Christi. One man, in his description of the wind burst, stated the sound of the gust was "like a giant hammer hitting the building."
Commentary Excerpt (I was about a mile from him):
I have been in a 130 mph hurricane and it was nothing like Celia. Celia's sustained winds had to be much higher in my area of the city. I lived on Parade Drive just south of the city towards the Naval Air Station. I recall looking out our windows (the wind was blowing parallel to them, not head on). The palm trees were all down on my street and flapping in the breeze like holding a piece of paper out your car window at 70 mph.
http://www.disasterrelief.org/Disasters/000803Celia/
Excerpt:
Thirty years ago, on Aug. 3, 1970, Hurricane Celia slammed into the Texas coast. With powerful winds gusting up to 161 mph at Corpus Christi and 180 mph through Aransas Pass, the storm is one of the most destructive weather-related disasters in the history of the state. Celia caused an estimated $454 million in damage, which would exceed the $1 billion mark by today's standards.
A Category 3 hurricane, Celia wasn't the strongest storm to churn through the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane was unique because of its incredible wind gusts. Sustained winds howled at 130 mph, but the gusts climbed as high as 180, giving the Coastal Bend of Texas a taste of the massive destruction these powerful storms can cause.
I'm on a listserve which has several members from this part of Florida. None of them has checked back in. Prayers their way.
Here were the evac orders:
http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/Emergency/bulletins.asp
Date: Thursday, August 12, 2004 Time: 4:19:31 PM
Mandatory Evacuation of Barrier Islands
CHARLOTTE COUNTY SCHOOLS TO CLOSE FRIDAY. MANDATORY EVACUATION OF BARRIER ISLANDS, RV PARKS, AND MOBILE HOME COMMUNITIES IN CHARLOTTE COUNTY ORDERED AT 3 P.M. TODAY.
Date: Thursday, August 12, 2004 Time: 8:12:01 PM
Low Lying Areas Strongly Urged to Evacuate
Residents in the following areas are strongly urged to consider evacuating their homes by daylight Friday in advance of Hurricane Charley. The strengthening storm is now forecast to produce a storm surge of up to 10 feet above normal tide levels. Those areas of Charlotte County below 8 foot elevation and subject to the worst flooding threat include: EAST PUNTA GORDA AND SOLONA DOWNTOWN PUNTA GORDA PUNTA GORDA’S HISTORIC DISTRICT RIVERSIDE DRIVE, PUNTA GORDA THE EDGEWATER CORRIDOR, PORT CHARLOTTE BAYSHORE ROAD, MELBOURNE STREET & HARBORVIEW ROAD, CHARLOTTE HARBOR BURNT STORE ROAD, PUNTA GORDA PIRATE HARBOR, PUNTA GORDA EL JOBEAN AND THE CAPE HAZE AREA IN WESTERN CHARLOTTE COUNTY Evacuation is MANDATORY for Charlotte County’s barrier islands and for anyone in an RV or mobile home.
As a youngster, I traveled with my parents through Biloxi two weeks before and two weeks after Camille. I couldn't believe my eyes on that second trip. One sight I'll never forget was a sign a family had put up saying they had lost their mother in the storm. I remember my dad trying to calm my mother and his four daughters all crying in the car. The destruction from Camille is the worst I've ever seen.
Incidentally, we stayed in a VOQ at Kessler on the first trip. All night long you could hear jets taking off and landing. I would imagine they were flown out of harm's way before Camille hit, as I don't see how anything could have survived 227 mph winds.
and Florida freepers please check in.
They weren't true, and hopefully this is the same situation.
News was saying this morning that 2 counties down there were totally without power. Hopefully they just can't turn on their computers.
With folks in their 90's, you do have to pretty much go door-to-door, and still many won't go anywhere, its too frightening.
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