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Topic: 1.8 Million without power (Read 217 times)

lakelady
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1.8 Million without power
« on: Aug 14^th, 2004, 6:41am »

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Florida assesses Charley's toll

Hurricane moving toward Carolinas, now Category 1 strength
Saturday, August 14, 2004 Posted: 7:32 AM EDT (1132 GMT)

A fallen house lies on Fort Myers Beach, Florida, after Charley's passage there Friday.

PUNTA GORDA, Florida (CNN) -- Florida emergency personnel rushed early Saturday to assess damage left by Hurricane Charley, after the storm came ashore with winds of 145 mph and moved across the state.

More than 1.8 million people were reported to be without power, and widespread building damage and uprooted trees were said to have been sighted from the Fort Myers area in the southwest -- where the hurricane slammed ashore Friday afternoon -- to Daytona Beach, where it moved off the state's eastern coastline just before midnight.

The hurricane weakened as it crossed the state, but it still had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (136 kph) as it churned over the Atlantic Ocean, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 a.m. ET advisory.

Charley is now moving northward along the Atlantic Seaboard and is expected to make landfall again Saturday in the Carolinas.

Just north of Fort Myers, Charlotte County emergency authorities reported several fatalities in Punta Gorda after what may have been a tornado spawned by Hurricane Charley uprooted several mobile homes, according to the county's emergency director, Wayne Sallade.

"We are unable at this time to get vehicles [into the area] because of downed power lines," Sallade said.

He said emergency workers Saturday morning will try to access the area after daylight.

To the south, in Lee County, the sheriff's office reported one hurricane-related death in North Fort Myers when a man in his early 20s stepped outside during the full force of the hurricane to smoke a cigarette.

A fatality was reported ahead of the storm in Orange County, when high wind blew a moving van into oncoming traffic on a freeway Friday afternoon, killing a young girl and seriously injuring seven others, according to Kim Miller, a spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol.

Charley aims for Carolinas
At 5 a.m., Charley was in the Atlantic Ocean about 115 miles (185 kilometers) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and was moving to the north-northeast at 25 mph (40 kph). Hurricane warnings have been posted from St. Simon's Island, Georgia, area northward to the North Carolina-Virginia state line.

Governors in Georgia, North and South Carolina have declared states of emergency ahead of the storm.

The hurricane could strengthen once it is back over open water, but Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, said it was unlikely that Charley could reclaim its former punch.

Late Friday, about 1,400 National Guard troops were sent into hard-hit Port Charlotte, where there were numerous reports of injuries. Search-and-rescue efforts were underway, said Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) spokeswoman Liz Compton.

'Widespread' damage reports
The brunt of the storm destroyed Charlotte County's Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and neighboring Sarasota County's OEM took over some duties for the office, including fielding media phone calls, a spokeswoman for the Sarasota agency said.

Craig Fugate, the Florida emergency management agency's director, said officials are receiving widespread reports of homes and mobile homes that were damaged or destroyed by the storm.

There were also widespread reports of trees being toppled and roofs being ripped from buildings.

The eye of storm came ashore on North Captiva Island just before 4 p.m. with 145 mph (233 kph) winds and a storm surge in excess of 10 feet (3 meters). It then crossed Charlotte Harbor before pushing into Port Charlotte and Charlotte County, and then continuing inland.

President Bush declared the state a major disaster area Friday evening, making federal funding available for individuals and local governments dealing with the storm.

Florida Power and Light spokeswoman Tom Veenstera said at least 858,000 people were out of power in the company's service areas across the state. Progress Energy, which services Orlando and central Florida, reported nearly 955,000 people had lost service.

The path to landfall
At Category 4, Charley was the first major hurricane to hit the Fort Myers area since 1960 when Donna, a Category 3 storm, came ashore.

Dick Keen, a resident of Punta Gorda, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Fort Myers, weathered the storm while sitting in his bathroom, describing the noise as "extremely loud" as the storm passed over.

"The roof is partially gone. Every tree in the neighborhood is gone," he said. "The damage is very consistent. The houses in my neighborhood are all concrete block, so the houses themselves are OK. But the roofs took a beating, and everything outside of the main block part of the house is destroyed."

Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday evening that officials expect "significant damage" along the state's southwest coast, given the magnitude of the wind and storm surge. However, he said initial reports from the area on the scope of the damage were still sketchy.

Charley had been expected to hit the Tampa Bay area, from which about 1.4 million people had been evacuated. But the storm made a slight turn to the east after it crossed Cuba and the Florida Keys, putting landfall instead near Fort Myers.

After crossing Cuba in the early hours of Friday morning and passing west of Key West about 8 a.m. ET Friday, the storm strengthened to Category 4 and veered slightly to the east, making landfall several hours earlier than had been anticipated and farther to the south.

A Category 4 storm is considered a major hurricane, capable of destroying mobile homes and damaging small residences. For comparison, Charley is as strong as Hurricane Hugo, which killed 82 people and caused $7 billion in damage when it devastated South Carolina in 1989.

Damage was minimal in Key West, which was battered by stout wind and heavy rain as Charley passed about 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the west. In Cuba, the storm ripped off roofs, downed power lines and toppled trees, but there were no reports of casualties.

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Bumper
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Re: 1.8 Million without power
« Reply #1 on: Aug 14^th, 2004, 11:39am »

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on Aug 14^th, 2004, 6:41am, lakelady wrote:

Florida assesses Charley's toll

Hurricane moving toward Carolinas, now Category 1 strength
Saturday, August 14, 2004 Posted: 7:32 AM EDT (1132 GMT)

.

Charley is now moving northward along the Atlantic Seaboard and is expected to make landfall again Saturday in the Carolinas.

Charley aims for Carolinas
At 5 a.m., Charley was in the Atlantic Ocean about 115 miles (185 kilometers) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and was moving to the north-northeast at 25 mph (40 kph). Hurricane warnings have been posted from St. Simon's Island, Georgia, area northward to the North Carolina-Virginia state line.

Here we go again. Ol' Bumper is as ready as can be at home this time. After the last hurricane last September I spend over a week in the dark without power, cooking on a gas grill, hauling swimming pool water to flush the toilets, etc. It was not pleasant.
In the past year, I have purchased a Generator, ran over 300 foot of wiring and installed an emergency generator electrical panel in the garage. I'm stocked up on gas and if the power goes out, I just roll out the generator and fire it up. It will be business as usual.

The situation is a little more "iffy" for my vacation home on the water in North Carolina. We'll see how it goes tonight and evaluate the situation on Sunday morning. I'm a little worried about the high winds but I've already purchased a couple of those large blue tarps just in case of roof damage.
Guess we'll find out Sunday morning, when ol' Charlie is gone. Roll Eyes

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Sheisback
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Re: 1.8 Million without power
« Reply #2 on: Aug 14^th, 2004, 12:41pm »

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Bumper
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Re: 1.8 Million without power
« Reply #3 on: Aug 15^th, 2004, 11:29pm »

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Dodged the bullet this time. Nothing but lots and lots and lots of rain up this way!

Hmmmm, I think I just saw Noah go by the front window. Roll Eyes

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Acalithos
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Re: 1.8 Million without power
« Reply #4 on: Aug 16^th, 2004, 12:17am »

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I saw the damage on tv just recently it was very bad i saw a roof been torn off! How strong was the cyclone?? It's quite weak now as a C1!

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luci
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Re: 1.8 Million without power
« Reply #5 on: Aug 16^th, 2004, 1:46pm »

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It WAS a HURRICANE!

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Addams
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Re: 1.8 Million without power
« Reply #6 on: Aug 16^th, 2004, 2:05pm »

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It was a level 4 when it hit Florida

entire communities were destroyed DJ

there was little flooding but lots of wind damage because it passed by so quickly.

I understand many people are having their power restored today. Those power teams must be exhausted by the endless task.

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