Posted on 08/14/2004 12:41:23 PM PDT by 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
Thanks for the first-hand account. I know exactly what you mean about the transformers. I've been through two major hurricanes, neither one affecting my area nearly as bad as Charley did Florida, so I'm not comparing them, but even so, what I saw was enough to put me off hurricanes forever.
No they didn't, there is no way they could have forseen that the hurricane would make a sudden easterly shift in its path as it did which caused it to then hit Ft. Myers......
If you want to tell me that a hurricane is going to hit within 50 miles of me, you can bet your sweet bippy that I am out of there......Any person who willingly hangs around after the announcement of an impending hurricane should be an honorary candidate for the annual darwin awards..........
All the people I saw today on TV stayed because they wanted to.
They seemed to have gotten off with wind damage. Very light.
~chuckling~ (no more popcorn)
Not only does the storm itself stink, it's the aftermath.
Only a fool complains that they don't have to boil their water, have no power, pain in the butt to get simple groceries, getting around, etc.
The aftermath of a hurricane is like living in a 3rd world country. It's not "exciting" or fun.
I heard them talking to a woman at a hospital who said they were seeing 50% more people than normal. If she said (and I was busy) anything about deaths I missed it.
LOL!
And now we should all be ready for whatever storms come next.
Thanks for the report bobwoodard.Glad you are all safe.
I heard this the other night; I wish I remembered the figure, but there are a LOT of people who live in Florida now that haven't been through a big storm.
And the weather reporters are the worst; this guy on CNN that is their meteorologist that is down there reporting has been damn near a nervous breakdown all day long; they need to take him OFF the air and take him off now.
Half the reporters don't know simply geography OR science, much less hurricane facts.
And to make matters worse, they are just plain stupid: as I type, Rita Cosby is talking about "Punta Gordon."
And more good news: just got a call from a neighbor on Pine Island, looks we dodged a bullet. House is intact with minimal damage and the boat is still on the lift.
It sounds like the surge didn't happen and the bulk of the storm hit Punta Gorda. Thank God.
I'm still praying for those folks in Charlotte County though.
Glad you are safe, bob, and thanks for the report.
You're right. Even though it took me 5 hours to get home on I4 (usually 1.5 hours with traffic), I consider myself lucky. When I got home, I had power, water, phone, etc, which I know are things that a great many people don't have access to.
Listening to on the drive back, you heard a wide range of reactions to the disaster in Central Florida. The hardest part for some people to understand is that even though you might not see the phone/power people on your street, that doesn't mean _nothing_ is happening. While frustrating, that's why you are supposed to have your supplies set up ahead of time.
Oh that is so great; I know you have been worried to death in two states.......LOL.
Charley went over Wilmington at my niece's house today @ 75 MPH.......no damage. You'll be fine.
What a weekend! On the drive back, I heard 3 or 4 tornado warnings, which did me no good since they didn't tell me where in relation to I4 the tornados were.
Then, I get back to Tampa and we have storms coming through (more standing water in my apt complex than my Kissimmee hotel parking lot) and 2 more tornado warnings in the Tampa Bay area.
I've had my fix of the weather and and can skip the distaster shows on the Weather Channel for while. :-)
I'm sending your post to my niece; she just bought a house in Wilmington and just this very day experienced her first storm, Charley....and it freaked her out. Maybe if I send it to her, she won't ever consider staying again.
Would you?
Great news! I know you are relieved. I'm wide-eyed about the boat still being on the lift!
I decided to take a nap last night, thinking that any heavy wind or rain would wake me - it looks as if we had the equivalent of a thunderstorm, but I'm not sure because I didn't wake up til daylight and by then Charley had passed and was approaching Charleston.
My sister just above Jacksonville got about the equivalent of a heavy thunderstorm, and my relatives near Florence SC didn't even get that much.
Do you hear anything of Matlacha?
Wow, you've had the experience of a lifetime! I don't think I envy you, but I'm glad you are okay and the storm missed your house!
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