Officials: Charley Will Cost Up to $11B
Sunday, August 15, 2004
AP
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — As the remnants of Hurricane Charley (search) disintegrated
off the New England coast on Sunday, Florida residents began the massive task of
cleaning up from a storm that state officials estimated caused damages as high
as $11 billion for insured homes alone.
President Bush (search) flew over the most heavily damaged areas in a Marine
helicopter Sunday before landing in this retirement haven of 15,000 people,
which was devastated by Charley. The storm killed at least 13 people in
Florida — including a man who was crushed outside his home when a banyan tree
fell on him — and left thousands temporarily homeless.
"All the clothes that I've got now is just what I'm wearing now," one resident,
George Nickols, told the president.
Chad Maxwell shoveled up soggy ceiling tiles and shattered glass Sunday from the
floor of the real estate office where he works in Punta Gorda. Looking at the
coffee shop next door, which lost its second floor, and a florist with only one
wall standing, he described his impression of downtown: "Beiruit."
"It looks like a bomb zone. Everything's gone. Everything's tore up," he said.
The Rev. Leroy Martin set up two dozen chairs and laid Bibles on them outside
his small Punta Gorda church, unsure whether the darkened building was safe for
services.
"I guess it is at a time like this when you realize the significance of
spiritual values when everything else has blown away," Martin said.
The hardest-hit areas appeared to be Punta Gorda (search) and Port Charlotte in
Charlotte County, though the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared 25
counties eligible for disaster aid after the worst hurricane to hit Florida in a
dozen years.
From his helicopter, President Bush could see debris from trailer park homes
strewn across green fields and roofs that had been torn off hangars at Charlotte
County Airport, where he was briefed by officials coordinating recovery efforts.
Asked about why he made such a quick trip to Florida in this election year, Bush
said: "Yeah, if I didn't come, they would've said we should have been here more
rapidly."
As a weakened Charley churned up the East Coast and was downgraded Sunday to a
tropical depression, emergency officials pronounced it the worst hurricane to
wallop Florida since Hurricane Andrew (search) tore through in 1992. Twenty-six
deaths were directly linked to Andrew, which caused $19.9 billion in insured
property losses.
The luxury vacation haven of North Captiva Island, which can be reached only by
air and boat, was divided in two by Charley's storm surge, creating a new inlet
that appears to be several hundred yards long, Lee County spokesman Pat O'Rourke
said. The island's main road was submerged, but the extent of damage to homes
was not determined.
State officials said it was impossible to estimate the number of missing people,
and downed power lines and debris made the task of searching for bodies "tedious
and dangerous," said Mike McHargue, director of investigations for the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement.
An initial damage estimate of $5 billion to $11 billion was based on the value
of homes and insurance policies in the storm's path, said Tami Torres, a
spokeswoman for state Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher. Uninsured homes,
business losses and damage to automobiles were not included.
Thirty-one mobile-home parks in Charlotte County sustained major damage, some
with more than 1,000 units, said Bob Carpenter, a sheriff's spokesman. He said
teams were sent to each park to search for bodies and survivors, but "we just
couldn't get the vehicles in — there is so much debris."
Earlier, Charley killed four people in Cuba and one in Jamaica.
Charley cut northeast across Florida, hit open ocean again and made landfall
again at South Carolina's Grand Strand resort region Saturday. The weakened but
still-powerful system moved into North Carolina and up the eastern seaboard.
At 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, Charley's center was east of Massachusetts' Cape Cod and
moving northeast at about 30 mph. It was downgraded from a tropical storm
Sunday, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.
The storm knocked out power in the Carolinas and caused some flooded streets and
power outages in Virginia, but caused little damage when it passed up the East
Coast.
What little strength remained dumped heavy rain in New England Sunday morning,
especially coastal areas. Up to 3 inches of rain fell in parts of eastern
Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
In Florida, Charley knocked out power to an estimated 2 million people as it hit
southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm, pummeling the coast with winds reaching
145 mph and a surge of sea water of 13 feet to 15 feet.
The storm devastated citrus groves, and could have a "huge impact" on this
year's crop, said Andy LaVigne, chief executive of the trade group Florida
Citrus Mutual.
The American Red Cross (search) set up more than 250 disaster relief shelters in
Florida and 40 in the Carolinas. Charlotte County officials requested help in
obtaining necessities such as towels, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes for
volunteers.
Three hospitals in the county sustained significant damage, Sallade said.
Officials at Charlotte Regional Medical Center said they were evacuating all
patients Saturday, and spokesman Josh Cutter said Sunday that the hospital hoped
to reopen within three weeks.
"This place just isn't safe," said Peggy Greene, chief nursing officer. She said
windows were blown out, part of the roof was blown off, and there was no power
or phone service.
Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson warned of
price gouging, and said arrests would be made if instances are discovered.
"People need to watch out for the scam artists," Bronson said at a state
briefing. "They're out there. They always are."
Meanwhile, the fourth and fifth named storms of the Atlantic hurricane season
were out at sea Sunday. Tropical Storm Danielle (search) formed Friday and
developed into a hurricane Saturday but was several days from land.
Tropical Storm Earl (search) had sustained winds of 45 mph Sunday and was
centered about 25 miles southwest of Grenada, prompting storm warnings for
islands in the southeastern Caribbean Sea.
"Our enemies never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we",
- George W. Bu$h
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