Posted on 08/14/2004 1:42:49 AM PDT by kattracks
We went through Homestead a few months after Andrew. I still remember the mountains of debris, seeing I beams twisted like licorce sticks....how anyone managed to survive Andrew was a miracle.
Rescuers Rush to Help Charley Victims in FloridaBy Michael Peltier PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (Reuters) - Rescuers raced into southwest Florida on Saturday to search for victims and help survivors of Hurricane Charley, a devastating storm that leveled buildings and left up to 1 million without power.
As a weakened but still powerful Charley headed toward the South Carolina coast, search teams with heavy equipment set out for Fort Myers, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, the Gulf Coast towns hit hardest when the storm made an unexpected turn south and struck with 145 mph winds on Friday.
"This type of hurricane only happens once every hundred years, they say," said Harry Thomas, looking over his destroyed Pelican Cove bayside motel in Port Charlotte. "I could have lived and died twice."
Florida's emergency management agency said at least three people were killed as the storm raged from the southwest coast across Orlando to the northeast shore, and there were unconfirmed reports of other deaths near Punta Gorda.
Emergency managers there ordered 60 body bags, two refrigerated trucks and had sheriff's deputies standing guard over bodies, CNN reported.
"We know that there has been quite a bit of damage to Punta Gorda. That appears to be the main area right now," said Erin Geraghty, a spokeswoman for the state's emergency management office. "We have search and rescue teams going into the area with large vehicles and trained searchers.
Charley was blamed for four deaths in Cuba and one in Jamaica after it formed in the Caribbean on Tuesday.
Early Saturday, ambulances streamed out of southwest Florida toward Tampa, taking patients to safety from damaged hospitals as National Guard troops, power company workers and search teams streamed in. In Port Charlotte, a man sat in front of his home with a shotgun, having scrawled the words "looters will be killed" on the wall.
A powerful Category 4 storm when it hit shore, Charley flattened mobile homes, tore roofs off buildings, overturned boats and cars, ripped up trees and signs and shredded power lines.
The storm plowed across central Florida, weakening as it dumped heavy rains on Orlando, home to Disney World, leaving a wide trail of destruction. Mobile homes were reduced to rubble and tractor-trailers were flipped over like toys.
"I guess it could have been worse. I'm just trying to figure out how," said Chris DiMarco of Port Charlotte, who lost part of his roof and pool enclosure.
On exclusive Captiva Island, offshore from Punta Gorda, 160 condominiums were totally destroyed and a similar number seriously damaged, the National Weather Service (news - web sites) said.
Florida Power & Light said 429,000 customers were left without electricity. Progress Energy Florida said 477,000 people were sitting in the dark.
State officials said they would be conducting damage estimates on Saturday.
But a catastrophic risk management group, Risk Management Solutions, estimated Charley could have inflicted up to $5 billion of insured damage. The group initially predicted up to $15 billion in insured losses but lowered the estimate after discovering the area of strongest winds was relatively small.
President Bush (news - web sites) declared Florida a disaster area to speed emergency assistance.
Forecasters had expected Charley to hit the densely populated Tampa area north of Port Charlotte and nearly 2 million people were told to evacuate.
But the storm suddenly gathered intensity as it headed for land and made a last-minute turn that brought it ashore farther south, catching off guard many who had ignored evacuation orders because they thought they were safe.
By 8 a.m., Charley was about 35 miles south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, near latitude 32.3 north and longitude 79.7 west, and its winds had reduced to 85 mph. It was moving north-northeast at 28 mph with winds of up to 85 mph.
As a Category 4 storm -- the second strongest on a scale used to rate hurricanes -- Charley rated as one of the most dangerous storms to hit Florida.
Hurricane Andrew was believed to be a Category 4 storm when it hit Miami in August 1992, causing $25 billion in damage. After ten years of study, experts upgraded it to a Category 5.
Couldn't or wouldn't, how well I know. Moved my mother, less than 4 months ago, from Ft. Myers to UT to live with my sister. I'm very grateful now that I was able to withstand the reluctance at the time and accomplish the mission. Now I need to call my cousin who owns a beach house at Bonita Beach, to see if she still owns a beach house.
Are you likely to get a visit from Charley?
Bad link. Here is the correct link to the live news feed from Charlotte County. http://waterbc.wm.llnwd.net/waterbc_netvideo
And you're an expert in dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes I suppose.
Looks like we'll get something; can't tell how bad until I find out where it's coming ashore.
But my niece and nephew are in Wilmington.
Lee County official: SW Florida International Airport to reopen at 9:00 am.
Beaches closed...Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Islands are closed.
I have never seen anything like this:
I heard that most of those communities didn’t call for a mandatory evacuation of trailers, unlike where I live in the Keys. Then somewhere around noon Charlie increased speed to a Cat 3. Nothing on this page or the weather underground site mentioned that for hours. It was freaking nuts.
Less than a half hour after noon (much less) various media began reporting Charly as a Cat 4 and veering east. By 2:30 it was probably too late to leave many of those communities. Not a lot of roads running east. Those that exist cross rivers and are potential congestion points. Wind and rain were beginning Those people who chose to risk a Cat 1 or 2 just had a couple of hours to get the word and make a decision. This is a retirement community. Many made the wrong decision.
My wife and I looked all around the Fort Myers and Punta Gorda area before buying our house here in Key Largo I was driving around at 4PM yesterday thinking about the above.. Knowing that many there were not prepared for that and were at that moment fighting for their lives.
It's being reported that a sheriff on site at a trailer park ordered 60 body bags.
You guys have it much worse than we do, with only 1 way out of the Keys until you get to my area. I don't blame you one bit for deciding to pack up and get out with an infant. I'd do the exact same thing. Thankfully, we dodged a bullet once again with Charley. Now lets see what TD 5 does over the next few days. This is going to be a long hurricane season.
Our house was built after Andrew and has all the upgraded hurricane standard upgrades. We've said I will pack up the animals and leave for anything over a 4. Unfortunately my husband will not be able to evacuate with me because he's considered essential personel at his job (Turkey Point Nuclear).
As you've been shown repeatedly, if they said that, they were wrong.
I only mentioned that the media made it seem this storm would take a much different path, and that may be why some people chose to stay.
Could you please quit trying to justify yourself, and find (1)somewhere else to whine, and (2) someone else to whine to?
Lee County official: Lee County residents who have evacuated are asked not to return today.
"Punta Gorda hit badly. LE is guarding stacks of bodies in a mobile home park there according to FoxNews. 4 counties declared major disaster areas. "
Sorry but I think modular or mobile homes in hurricane prone areas should have a mandatory mobile home community storm bunker equipped with a generator for all of the mobile park residents to stay safe in. It's the most sensible solution so far. There is no way these people could have remained out of harms way inside their mobile homes. The news showed another senior citizen retirement mobile home park that is destroyed. I find it hard to believe home insurers there carry these mobile homes. It isn't practical or safe. Many many Oklahoma residents have tornado bunkers.
Florida needs to start implementing community storm "bunkers" especially for all of the mobile home parks. What is so hard about this concept when tornado ridden Oklahoma inhabitants have them.
Because it was unconfirmed at that time.
I worked a summer at the Hospital there in Punta Gorda, I think it was Charlotte Country Hospital (the one on US 17, as I recall).
I can't believe they stayed. Charley was supposed to hit north of there and by the time it was known where the storm was coming on land it was too late to leave.
I am just north of Charlotte, NC. We know what Hugo did to us. We are 200 miles from the coast! Parts of the SC coast were totally destroyed. Hugo cut a path of devastation through both states.
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