Report from Ground Zero - Charley destruction

[Puntagorda]

Here's a ground zero report from the Hurricane . . . from my observations as one who lives in the area that was hit.

Charley made a direct hit on Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte Florida.

These two cities sit at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor, and are separated by bridges that cross the Peace river which flows into the Gulf.

Neither city had been hit or threatened by a Hurricane in more than 75 years.

Hurricane Charley which was expected to hit Tampa, 120 miles north, unexpectantly veered into Charlotte Harbor, and followed the Peace River inland.

When Charley hit Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda it packed winds of 145 mph.

The downtown areas of both cities have been heavily damaged, with almost all businesses either being heavily damaged or destroyed. The closer the buildings were to the Peace River, the more the destruction.

Both hospitals heavily damaged. Seven Fire Stations heavily damaged. The Punta Gorda police station was destoyed. The Punta Gorda city hall was destroyed. Punta Gorda historic district was destroyed.

Almost every home in Punta Gorda Isles was heavily damaged (an upscale canal community on Charlotte Harbor).

Most mobile home communities were destroyed.

All radio stations off the air - towers down. The airport was destroyed (a small airport with no scheduled flights).

Thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of homes damaged - hundreds (maybe thousands) were totally destroyed.

Rescue workers are doing a door to door search to find the wounded.

Because local communication is down, including cell phone, no accurate numbers are available of who might be missing, or hurt, or who might be in rescue shelters, so door to door searches through the ruble are being conducted.

The lack of phone service, radio reporting, TV news, is causing major problems. And the downed trees and debris blocking roads, makes it difficult to move into the damaged areas - which include the main artery through town - Hiway 41 (also know as the Tamiami Trail).

Most local residents feared the storm surge most . . . the rising water. This is to expected since so many people live on canal front property.

But there was no storm surge. Charlotte Harbor averages 12 feet deep, so not much water in there in the first place. . . and much of it was blown out by the storm.

Almost all the damage was from the 145 mph winds.

The damaged area appears to be in a path about 15 miles wide - 30 miles long following the Peace river from Port Charlotte to Arcadia (30 miles inland).

The barrier Island communities of Sanibel, and Boca Grande suffered major damage.

Communities on the north side of the storm path were basically unaffected (other than the shock value of having a hurricane hit this area - first time in 75 years.)

Only minor damage to cities to the south - Fort Myers suffered some wind damage.

It will take years to rebuild Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda.

Many residents will discover that to rebuild to the now mandated Hurricane Building codes will cost much more than the insured value of their homes.

No one here expected the hurricane to hit, the forecasters kept telling us it was going to hit 120 miles north.

We were stunned when Charley was upgraded from a low category II to a dangerous category IV just hours before it hit.

Again this was the first time in 75 years that a Hurricane had even come close to this area. And many of the buildings built in the 60's and 70's simply could not stand the wind load.

FYI: Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda are (were?) ranked in the top ten fastest appreciating real estate markets in the US.

PuntaGorda

[Abigail Adams]

Thanks for the report! Prayers for all.

[big'ol_freeper]

You all are in our prayers. You answered a question I was wondering about as I checked all the information sources coming out of the area...that was how the other areas around Ft. Myers made out. I have a dear friend living in North Fort Myers and was very concerned for him and his lovely wife. God Bless.

[commish]

THanks for the update P., Glad to hear you and yours are safe.

[Bahbah]

CFC, here's a report from Charley's ground zero.

[ChocChipCookie]

Thanks for taking the time to report this. This is terrible news. Just terrible. :o(

[pt17]

Thanks for the report and prayers for all who were hurt by this.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Thank you for your informative post.

[litehaus]

Prayers for all the folks down your way........

[kingattax]

i was watching the weather channel yesterday and i couldnt

believe they kept saying landfall would happen in tampa even

as late as 2;00 PM.

the forecasters blew this call big time...terrible

[TXBubba]

Thanks for the report. Does anyone here have any more info. on the Orlando area? We have family there. They are out of town and understand their house is "okay". They said the airport there was still closed so they don't know if they have a car or not. Any news reports on that area?

[steve86]

No one here expected the hurricane to hit, the forecasters kept telling us it was going to hit 120 miles north. We were stunned when Charley was upgraded from a low category II to a dangerous category IV just hours before it hit.

That tells the whole story. In this case, some of the "best informed" (i.e. listened to the professional forecasters; apprised of the computer model predictions) were likely among the most bewildered as the rapid turn of events unfolded. Prayers to all.

[Guillermo]

will cost much more than the insured value of their homes.

I'm almost 100% certain you are wrong on this, because a typical homeowners policy is for the replacementvalue of the house.

[Pete]

I was watching Fox News today when they were interviewing a woman who worked at one of the hospitals. She said something shocking that I have not heard repeated. She reported 150 people DOA and said that it was an early number that was probably higher now. She also said that they were overwhelmed with wounded.

Anybody else see that report?

[Guillermo]

I heard some lady on the news say the same thing...she was howling mad.

Here it comes: Governor and Presidnet Bush failed to warn us. Guaranteed.

[BenLurkin]

Stay safe FRiend.

[KC_for_Freedom]

I stayed at an airsteam park named Paridise Park inland from Punta Gorda, any news out of there?

[Pete]

They said the airport there was still closed so they don't know if they have a car or not. Any news reports on that area?

I saw some footage on the cable channels and it looked fairly roughed up although not as bad as further south and west. I also heard that every major building at the airport was damaged (they got a 105 mph gust there during the height of the storm).

[steve86]

An irony is that years ago, as reports came in from Key West of a big storm approaching, people probably would have gotten the heck out of there. Progress.

[jcmfreedom]

Thank you for the update. I've been watching CNN and FOX for more information on the area. My favorite vacation spots are Sanibel and Captiva. I've been waiting for information from those islands. One arial view from CNN showed that the lighthouse on Sanibel survived. Most of the condos on the coast appeared from the air to have roof damage. I heard that they received sustained winds of 155-165mph. If you hear anymore information, please share. Thanks.