Charley Targets Fla. With 145 Mph Winds

[thedrifter]

Charley Targets Fla. With 145 Mph Winds

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer

TAMPA, Fla. - Hurricane Charley strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 storm packing 145 mph winds bearing down on Florida's west coast Friday.


State officials urged almost 2 million people to evacuate, but the storm path moved slightly south of the heavily populated Tampa Bay region to the booming areas of Sarasota and Charlotte counties, meteorologist Daniel Brown said.


An expected massive storm surge could devastate coastal and low-lying areas in the Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Tampa and St. Petersburg, where many streets were deserted as workers were told to stay home or head to shelters.


If it remains at its current strength, Charley would be the strongest hurricane since the Category 5 Andrew hit south of Miami in 1992.


By noon, Charley's outer bands were already dropping rain on southwestern Florida, a few hours after bringing occasionally heavy wind and rain to the lower Keys as the storm's center passed to the west. Only minor damage was immediately reported.


Charley claimed at least three lives in Cuba earlier Friday in its sprint across the country earlier Friday, its top civil defense official said.


Lt. Col. Domingo Carretero reported the casualties in a live early afternoon report on state-run television, but offered no specifics except to say the three deaths occurred in Havana province, which rings the capital.


The storm on Thursday killed a farmer in Jamaica.


Evacuation shelters in Florida were filling to capacity Friday morning, as residents and tourists looked for somewhere safe to ride out the storm. This potentially could be the largest evacuation in state history, officials said.


Gov. Jeb Bush said he had sought a federal disaster declaration from President Bush (news - web sites), his brother, and urged residents to stay wherever they were.


"This is not the time to be getting on the interstate. It is time to seek a safe place to be with family and friends inside of your region," the governor said.


A shelter at Sickles High School in northwestern Tampa was full to its capacity of 500 at the breakfast hour. Windows had been reinforced with screens and tarps to prepare for the storm.


"I'm scared that we're going to go home and nothing is going to be there," 20-year-old Amanda Kellogg said as she played blackjack with four friends, their suitcases, bedding and other possessions piled beside them.


The main airports in Tampa and Sarasota closed at noon, and Tampa's Busch Gardens and Adventure Island theme parks were closed. In the Orlando area, Walt Disney World closed early, while Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando planned to close their parks in the early afternoon.


About 1,000 Florida National Guard members have been activated, and another 1,000 were being called up.


Earlier, the storm roared across Cuba, ripping apart roofs, downing power lines and yanking up huge palm trees. High wind and heavy rain battered Havana, home to 2.2 million people. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage, but power that had shut down for safety reasons was still not restored more than eight hours later.


Chunks of corrugated roof were ripped from the roof of Marlen Perez's modest home.





"The wind was howling and I was screaming, 'Oh my God, oh my God.' Pieces of the roof were falling everywhere," said Perez, 39. "... I thought the walls were falling down."

Before reaching Cuba, Charley drenched Jamaica, where one man died.

The hurricane was arriving in Florida a day after Tropical Storm Bonnie came ashore in the state's Panhandle and quickly moved north. Three people, including a child, were killed and 29 injured Friday when a tornado hit a North Carolina trailer park.

About 6.5 million of Florida's 17 million residents were in Charley's projected path, including about 700,000 elderly people, officials said.

At 1 p.m. Friday, the storm was 70 miles south-southwest of Fort Myers, moving north-northeast at about 20 mph. It was expected to make landfall between 4 and 7 p.m., meteorologists said. Hurricane force wind extended outward 30 miles from the eye; tropical storm force wind went out 105 miles. Gusts were measured at 58 mph in the lower Keys.

All the west coast of Florida's peninsula was under a hurricane warning, as was the lower Florida Keys. Tropical storm watches and warnings extended from the middle Keys to Oregon Inlet, N.C.

About 1.9 million people from the Florida Keys north through the west coast were advised to evacuate, although only 1.1 million to 1.5 million were expected to do so before the storm hit, said Kristy Campbell, spokeswoman at the state emergency management center.

After Florida, Charley was expected to head north along Georgia's coast, arriving in South Carolina around midday Saturday.

Campers were asked Friday to leave Georgia's Cumberland Island, and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford called Friday for a voluntary evacuation of low-lying areas along his state's southern coast.

The hurricane's predicted track could take the storm into lush fields of corn, cotton and soybeans, as well as large cattle, poultry and hog farms from Florida into Virginia. Vegetable, greenhouse and citrus growers in Florida faced the first impact.

Florida's evacuation request was its biggest since 1999, when Hurricane Floyd prompted an order for a record 1.3 million people to evacuate the state's east coast. Charley's evacuation could break that record, said Craig Fugate, the state's emergency management director.

Most evacuations were in the counties of Hillsborough, which contains Tampa, and Pinellas, a peninsula that contains St. Petersburg. All residents of MacDill Air Force Base, on another peninsula in Tampa Bay, were ordered out with only essential personnel remaining. MacDill is home to U.S. Central Command, the nerve center of the war in Iraq (news - web sites).

___

On the Net:

National Hurricane Center (news - web sites): http://www.nhc.noaa.gov




http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ane_charley_32


Ellie

Prayers Outgoing.....

[yellowwing]

The 3day storm track estimate, predicts Charley will cross Florida, and then stay in the Atlantic a few hours, right off of the coast of Parris Island!

[CMyr]

Thank you for your prayers, Ellie. I talked to my mom in Florida this a.m. and she was scared silly. All I could do was reassure her. Am glad to see the main part of the storm is basically staying south of her for now. I pray the inherent tornadoes associated with these storms are few; and that Charley doesn't strengthen once it clears Florida.

[thedrifter]

CMyr


My parents and sister are down there...Just pulled in early this morning.....Everything is shut down now....My brother is South Carolina....and is having problems finding gas stations open....My other brother just started.......

We will be hit in Philly with more rain by tomorrow night...........Like we need it.......

Prayers are out.........


Elllie

[CAR]

My mom lives in Tampa where the hurricane was heading. Fortunately as I write this, Charley is moving inland around Ft. Meyers. I'm glad my mom is alright but am putting out prayers for those further south.

[TracGunny]

Hurricane season in Florida... ya'll come on down, now, ya hear? yes, I'm in my bunker....

running Bonnie/Charlie tab:

http://www.jaxsemperfidelis.org/foru...=&threadid=278

[MillRatUSMC]

Our prayers for all you folks facing Bonnie and Charlie...
Stay in your bunker...
Up here all we face are tornadoes and blizzards...

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

[hrscowboy]

dang i remember a typhoon in okinawa once damn four days in barracks with high winds hard rain windows taped up and wall lockers in front of them all kinds of damage when it was over man i was glad when that was over.

[TracGunny]

August 14th - 5:34 am ET

Hurricane Charley's death toll to climb as official reports 'a number of fatalities'

MARK LONG
Associated Press Writer

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — The death toll from Hurricane Charley rose early Saturday, when a county official said there had a been "significant loss of life" at a mobile home park and deputies were standing guard over stacks of bodies because the area was inaccessible to ambulances.

Wayne Sallade, Charlotte County's director of emergency management, said early Saturday that there were "a number of fatalities" at the mobile home park, and that there were confirmed deaths in at least three other areas in the county.

The eye of the worst hurricane to hit Florida in a dozen years passed directly over Punta Gorda, a town of 15,000 which took a devastating hit Friday.

Hundreds of people were missing in Charlotte and thousands were left homeless, Sallade said. He compared the devastation with 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which the National Hurricane Center directly blamed for the deaths of 26 people, most in South Florida.

"It's Andrew all over again," he said. "We believe there's significant loss of life."

Sallade did not have an estimate on a specific number of fatalities. He said it may take days to get a final toll.

Extensive damage was also reported on exclusive Captiva Island, a narrow strip of sand west of Fort Myers.

President Bush declared a major disaster area in Florida, making federal money available to Charlotte, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties. One million customers were reported without power statewide, including all of Hardee County and Punta Gorda.

The Category 4 storm was stronger than expected when the eye reached the mainland at Charlotte Harbor, pummeling the coast with winds reaching 145 mph and a surge of sea water of 13 to 15 feet.

Charley was forecast to spread sustained winds of about 40 mph to 60 mph across inland portions of eastern North Carolina and to dump 3 to 6 inches of rain beginning Saturday morning, forecasters said. Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency.

In South Carolina, roads clogged Friday night as tourists and residents of the state's Grand Strand — beaches and high-dollar homes and hotels — heeded a mandatory evacuation order. Gov. Mark Sanford had urged voluntary evacuation earlier Friday.

At Charlotte Regional Medical Center in Punta Gorda, 40 people sought treatment for storm injuries. The hospital was so badly damaged that patients were transferred to other hospitals.

"We can't keep patients here," CEO Josh Putter said. "Every roof is damaged, lots of water damage, half our windows are blown out."

Among those seeking treatment was Marty Rietveld, showered with broken glass when the sliding glass door at his home was smashed by a neighbor's roof that blew off. Rietveld broke his leg, and his future son-in-law suffered a punctured leg artery.

"We are moving," said Rietveld's daughter, Stephanie Rioux. "We are going out of state."

At least 20 patients with storm injuries were reported at a hospital in Fort Myers.

A crash on Interstate 75 in Sarasota County killed one person, and a wind gust caused a truck to collide with a car in Orange County, killing a young girl. A man who stepped outside his house to smoke a cigarette died when a banyan tree fell on him in Fort Myers, authorities said.

At the Charlotte County Airport, wind tore apart small planes, and one flew down the runway as if it were taking off. The storm spun a parked pickup truck 180 degrees, blew the windows out of a sheriff's deputy's car and ripped the roof off an 80-foot-by 100-foot building.

Martin said he saw homes ripped apart at two trailer parks.

"There were four or five overturned semi trucks — 18-wheelers — on the side of the road," he said.

In Desoto County outside Arcadia, several dead cows, wrapped in barbed wire, littered the roadside.

The hurricane rapidly gained strength in the Gulf of Mexico after crossing Cuba and swinging around the Florida Keys as a more moderate Category 2 storm Friday morning. An estimated 1.4 million people evacuated in anticipation of the strongest hurricane to strike Florida since Andrew in 1992.

Charley reached landfall at 3:45 p.m. EDT, when the eye passed over barrier islands off Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, some 110 miles southeast of the Tampa Bay area.

Charley hit the mainland 30 minutes later, with storm surge flooding of 10 to 15 feet, the hurricane center said. Nearly 1 million people live within 30 miles of the landfall.

The state put 5,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen on alert to help deal with the storm, but only 1,300 had been deployed by Friday night, a state emergency management spokeswoman said.

At a nursing center in Port Charlotte, Charley broke windows and ripped off portions of the roof, but none of the more than 100 residents or staff was injured, administrator Joyce Cuffe said.

"The doors were being sucked open," Cuffe said. "A lot of us were holding the doors, trying to keep them shut, using ropes, anything we could to hold the doors shut. There was such a vacuum, our ears and head were hurting."

At 5 a.m. EDT, the center of the storm was in the Atlantic Ocean, about 115 miles south-southwest of Charleston, S.C., and moving north-northeast at 25 mph. Forecasters expected Charley to increase in speed. Maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph with higher gusts.

The center was expected to approach the South Carolina coast later Saturday. A hurricane warning was issued from Altamaha Sound, Ga., north to the North Carolina-Virginia state line. From there, a tropical storm watch extended north to Sandy Hook, including the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. A tropical storm warning was issued from Sandy Hook north to Merrimack River, including the New York Harbor and Long Island Sound.

Spared the worst of the storm was the Tampa Bay area, where about a million people had been told to leave their homes. Some drove east, only to find themselves in the path of the Charley.

"I feel like the biggest fool," said Robert Angel of Tarpon Springs, who sought safety in a motel. "I spent hundreds of dollars to be in the center of a hurricane. Our home is safe, but now I'm in danger."

The fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Danielle, formed Friday but posed no immediate concern to land. The fifth may form as early as Saturday and threaten islands in the southeastern Caribbean Sea.

Associated Press writers Mark Long in Fort Myers, Ken Thomas in Key West, Mitch Stacy and Brendan Farrington in Tampa, Vickie Chachere in Sarasota, Mike Branom and Mike Schneider in Orlando and Bruce Smith in Charleston, S.C., contributed to this report.

On the Net:
National Hurricane Center:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
http://wire.jacksonville.com/pstorie.../2370051.shtml

[Phantom Blooper]

Charley is now bearing down on NC...Waterspouts and possible tornadoes are popping up.The winds are picking up,and the rain is coming down. So far no deaths or injuries.And a far ways from being as bad as Fla. It is a category 1.It' moving into Pender County..as i write Onslow where Camp Lejeune is at is next. Camp Lejeune is getting wind and water.Trying to let you know before the power goes off. Semper-Fi! Chuck Hall

[Arlene Horton]

My granddaughter & her 3 year old son live in Tampa and when they got word to evacuate she packed essential items and hit the road to Orlando. As you can expect, the hurricane switched directions and headed for Orlando. Can't count on projected directions. My son lives in central Florida and said all they got was a lot of wind damage...branches down, loss of electricity but he said the power outage wasn't unusual. My thoughts & prayers are with the people who lost just about everything in the Port Charlotte area. Lots of nice folks there.

[Osotogary]

Just called Lejeune. They are waiting. Son's is okay. Caught some wind and rain gusts in Miramar ... everything seems to be okay. Praying for the affected areas.

[Phantom Blooper]

Winds are picking up,gusts,ripping tree limbs an power lines.scattered outages, tornadoe watch in effect to 2000 all around.Power flickered once.Wind speeds approx. 65 MPH. Eye of storm is moving up and storm is going up further inland. No deaths or injuries so far.Semper Fi! Chuck Hall

[Phantom Blooper]

Minimal damage! Just came back from taking yougest daughter home,creeks and New River high.Lots of branches down. Sporatic trees down, very few compared to 1999 Bertha& Floyd. Power outages,but getting power up quickly. Still no injuries or deaths reported.A total of three Bradford Pear Memorial trees limbs broke,one busted at stump over by CLNC and Camp Johnson. Say prayers for Florida! Semper-Fi!! Chuck Hall

[thedrifter]

Just starting to rain here..Winds are picking up...At this time we do not need any more rain..We have been flooding up our end for the last few weeks from all the rain we keep getting..

My parents, sister and two brothers are in Daytona Beach...They have been out of power since 11:00 PM last night...They are all holding out in the condo....We have been talking by cell phones but there batteries do not have much life left....

Prayers are Out for All the Folks that have crossed in Charlies path.......

Ellie