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
Just for the record, I was watching Fox News at the time, and heard that interview. She (the hospital spokesman -- doctor?) sounded like she was just stating the facts, and trying to give a conservative estimate.
My jaw dropped when I heard it, but incredibly no one else has reported such a thing.
It seems there is some sort of gag order in effect that is keeping the networks from reporting a death count. One reporter on Fox surmised that they would release the numbers after the president finished his visit.
I have no idea why they would wait. It is the most curious thing.
I know others might not agree, but I think this is one of the things that FR does best.
They say to take baby wipes!
For goodness sakes, be careful. And take some pictures!
After the politictions left.
I felt like I was there with you. Nice bit of writing.
It is always the shining moment of FR.We do it best and leave it to the best and lurk with the rest.Congrats all.
Stop lurking. We need every FONT to fight off the Democrats this fall........LOL.
I do, too! You weren't here on 9-11, but Huck posted about 2 posts, saying that it happened right near him, he could actually see it, then he didn't post again until late that night.
Needless to say, we freaked!
OK
That one palm tree is almost completely through that part of the building.
I'm reminded of Hugo damage - a house destroyed and the one next to it completely intact, in places. Other areas, everything looks bulldozed.
You'll need to take lots of pictures when you go down!
Thanks for the images.
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