hey, Florida people -

[turbob]

Everyone ok? My son is in Orlando and I can't get ahold of him, can anyone tell me what is going on down there?

[nanajoanie]

Wish I had some info. Been e-mailing and calling my dear friend in Tampa for 2 days. Maybe she is on vacation. The nightly news was so frightening. Charley is expected to still be a #1 when he hits central NC - ME and MY kids :eek: I'm really nervous over this "storm dude" :eek:

[ntgsmommy]

Some new info: very scary ya'll

Hurricane Charley Pounds Florida
Hurricane Rated a Category 4 Storm With 145 MPH Winds

By Jill Barton and Allen G. Breed
The Associated Press
Friday, August 13, 2004; 5:24 PM

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. -- A stronger-than-expected Hurricane Charley roared ashore Friday as a dangerous Category 4 storm, pounding the heavily populated Gulf Coast with 145 mph wind and towering surges of water expected to swallow up miles of shoreline.

Airports and theme parks hurriedly closed and storm shelters quickly filled up as nearly 2 million people were told to flee ahead of the strongest storm to hit Florida in a decade. Gov. Jeb Bush estimated that damage could exceed $15 billion.



Hurricane Charley is seen along the west coast of Florida in this NOAA satellite image taken at 1:54 p.m. Friday. (NOAA)


_____Audio_____

• The Post's Laura Stanton reports from Cape Coral, Fla., as Hurricane Charley approaches.
• AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Ken Reeves talks about Hurricane Charley's lastest forecast and the possible impact on the Washington area.



_____Hurricane Charley_____

• Map: Storm Trajectory
• Graphic: Storm's Impact
• NOAA Forecast
• NOAA Prediction Center



_____Free E-mail Newsletters_____

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"This is the nightmare scenario that we've been talking about for years," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, referring to storm surges up to 20 feet. "You've got roofs blowing off. It's going to be bad. Real bad."

Charley's eye reached land at 3:45 p.m. EDT when it passed over the barrier islands between Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, some 70 miles southeast of the Tampa Bay area. It struck the mainland 30 minutes later.

"We are ground zero for Hurricane Charley," said Wayne Sallade, director of emergency management in Charlotte County.

By 4 p.m., it was centered about 20 miles west-northwest of Fort Myers, according to the National Hurricane Center. Wind of at least 74 mph extended outward 30 miles from the eye. The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of the region.

Charley was expected to slice north through the state, with 6.5 million of Florida's 17 million residents in the projected path. Four to 8 inches of rain was possible.

The hurricane was initially expected to strike as a Category 2 storm, but was upgraded as it approached the coast. Sallade lashed out at forecasters because authorities learned so late that Charley was a Category 4.

"This magnitude storm was never predicted," he said. "(Forecasters) told us for years they don't forecast hurricane intensity well and unfortunately, we know that now."

Residents who had not left were told to stay home or head to shelters, and even the Charlotte County emergency operation center was evacuated as a precaution. The wind snapped pine trees in half, and offshore the gulf churned like water in a washing machine.

"When the ocean decides to meet my bay, that's a lot of water. It's already in my pool," said Lucy Hunter, the hotel operator at the Pink Shell Beach Resort and Spa.

Six resort employees, including Hunter's husband, hunkered down in a room in the hotel's center. "Every now and then you hear a big whistle, but the noise isn't bad," Hunter said before the phone line went dead.

Charley had been expected to hit shore near the Tampa-St. Petersburg area but veered toward the northeast before making landfall.

That change wasn't enough to make Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Gregg Feagans relax. "As long as this thing still has a name, it's like sleeping with rattlesnakes," he said.

Earlier, as it blew through the Caribbean, Charley had been blamed for at least four deaths, three in Cuba and one in Jamaica.

The evacuation rivaled the largest in state history, and Bush urged people in the storm's projected path to keep off highways and roads. He declared a state of emergency and asked his brother, President Bush, to declare a federal state of emergency.

The storm was almost on par with Hurricane Andrew, which smashed into South Florida in 1992 with 165 mph wind, killed 43 people and caused $31 billion in damage.

Hurricane warnings were posted along Florida's west coast and along the Atlantic Coast from Cocoa Beach, just south of Cape Canaveral, all the way to South Carolina.

The storm even affected the nerve center of the war in Iraq, MacDill Air Force Base, where residents evacuated and only essential personnel remained.

On the state's Atlantic coast, 10 Navy ships from Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville were sent out to sea to avoid damage from the storm, the Navy said Friday.

About 1,000 Florida National Guard members had been activated and more were likely.

At Cape Canaveral, traffic was bumper-to-bumper at noon as Kennedy Space Center employees left work early. All but a skeleton crew of 200 of the nearly 13,000-person work force was sent home, or told to stay home, and the space shuttle hangars and the massive Vehicle Assembly Building were sealed tight.

In Orlando, theme parks Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando, closed in the early afternoon and Disney's Animal Kingdom didn't open at all. The only previous time that the parks closed for a hurricane was in 1999 for Floyd. Guests remaining at hotels were to urged to stay in their rooms.

Amtrak canceled long-distance service between Miami and New York for Saturday, and trains coming from Los Angeles will stop in New Orleans instead of continuing on to Orlando.

The barrier island of Sanibel, home to 6,000 people, is known for the hundreds of types of ********s that hide just beneath the sand's surface, and the posture associated with bending over to hunt them is known as the "Sanibel Stoop." An annual shell fair is attended by thousands, and a museum is devoted to the hobby.

Earlier Friday, the heart of storm slid to the west of Key West, sparing the Florida Keys. Charley hit the lower Keys with occasionally heavy rain and gusts of 58 mph but officials reported only minor damage.

If it remained at its current strength, Charley would be the strongest hurricane to hit Florida since the Category 5 Andrew hit south of Miami in 1992. Hurricane Mitch, which stalled over Honduras in 1998, also was Category 5 with sustained wind over 155 mph. Mitch killed some 10,000 people in Central America.

[Angel Lips]

some scary stuff, hope everyone who is getting this is being safe. my prayers go out to you all and your families

[sunflowers]

Its headed right for Orlando....Going thru Lakeland now

[nanajoanie]

I hope we have enought prayer lines to weather this Charley dude. This is very scary :eek: I know they couldn't predict exactly on it's path or intensity but that's a game Ma Nature plays with us mere mortals. Everyone stay safe..

[buglebe]

Hello. I am in Pompano Beach, Fl , next to Ft Lauderdale. The storm has been on every tv station , all day; so we have had full coverage. I don't know why you haven't reached your son but I know that crews and volunteers are already heading to the area hardest hit, Port Charlotte. Those still in the path are still preparing. The highways are jammed. Power is out in lots of areas caused by high winds not near the storm, so much going on. There is lots of flooding. On a lighter note, the newscasters said Orlando usually does not acknowledge a storm, so guess they are taking this one seriously since Disney is closed. I'm praying for everyone. People didn't know which way to go. My sister in law called last night from Tampa area at 10pm and said they had to be off the island by 12 and were coming here. They were being told to go east and not north. Then changed their mind and said they would stay with a friend there and come today. Then storm changed direction. I don't know where they are. My brother in Jacksonville is trying to get ready. So everywhere things are out of the norm. Good luck, hope you hear from your son soon and all others who are waiting to hear from loved ones.

[Denise1972]

My MIL is on the way to Virginia, and we cant get ahold of her on her cell phone. Is anyone else on the east coast having problems? She has an IL phone number so it may be bouncing to a tower that is out. I remember Hurricane Dennis or Floyd, I dont remember which, they knocked out ATM's all over the US. I tried emailing her, and I havent heard from her. She will be around MT Crawford, VA. She may have waited a few days before traveling all the way there. She and her DH are in an RV. I wish We could get ahold of them :(

[Willow]

I talked to my mother about an hour ago and she said it was as calm as could be but for over an hour they had heavy downpours and very strong winds. Water was leaking through the fans in her bathroom ceiling. Her friend that lives down the street had a palm tree fall over onto her roof. They are in Haines City which is very close to Lakeland. She's hoping it's over but she thinks it might pick back up again. :eek: My brother who lives in Dundee had some shingles come off the side of his house but other than that they are okay.

[ntgsmommy]

I just wanted to add that I heard from my friend in Sarasota, Fl, and she said they were very lucky, it just turned and missed them, but Port Charlote got hit hard! I hope everyone is safe--- :( :confused:

[mrsswede]

I got this e-mail from EmergencyEmail.org and thought it may be interesting or helpful to some. We had to evacuate at 6A.M. and all day we were told to expect the worst. Charley unexpectedly changed course at the last minute, so we were spared, thank God. Others weren't so lucky. We had about 30 minutes worth of heavy rain, and very little wind. We came back home around 8:30 P.M. This storm is very unpredictable so please stay safe, everyone.

Also, it looks like we have two more coming our way, Wednesday, with one expected to take the same path as Charley.

Good luck to everyone. Please heed all evacuation orders even if you feel you have nothing to fear. Although it is a MAJOR inconvenience to evacuate, it's better than losing your life.


> Refer family and friends to http://www.EmergencyEmail.ORG/ for sign up. <

CHARLEY MOVING RAPIDLY ACROSS CNTL FL.

ALL HURRICANE WARNINGS ALONG THE WEST COAST OF FL HAVE BEEN
DISCONTINUED AS OF 9 PM EDT.

THE INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

THE FLOOD WATCH FOR WEST-CNTL & SW FL HAS BEEN
CANCELLED.

THE TORNADO WATCH FOR WEST-CNTL & SW FL HAS BEEN
CANCELLED..

STORM LOCATION & INTENSITY.
AT 9PM EDT.THE CENTER OF HURRICANE CHARLEY WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 28.4 NORTH.LONGITUDE 81.4 WEST.OR 15 MILES
SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF ORLANDO. CHARLEY WAS MOVING TO THE
NORTH-NORTHEAST NEAR 25 MPH.WITH A GRADUAL INCREASE IN FORWARD
SPEED EXPECTED LATER TONIGHT. MAX SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED
TO AROUND 90 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS.& A FURTHER DECREASE IN WIND
SPEED IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE NIGHT. MIN CNTL PRESSURE WAS
ESTIMATED AT 965 MB.OR 28.50 INCHES.

HURRICANE CHARLEY MADE LANDFALL AT 345 PM EDT.AT CAYO COSTA.A
BARRIER ISLAND JUST WEST OF CAPE CORAL. AT 435 PM EDT.A WIND GUST
OF 97 KNOTS OR 111 MPH WAS MEASURED AT THE PUNTA GORDA AIRPORT
BEFORE THE INSTRUMENT FAILED. ESTIMATED WIND GUSTS FROM THE EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT
OFFICE IN ARCADIA FL WERE 104 MPH.

STORM SURGE FLOOD & STORM TIDE IMPACTS.
THE THREAT OF STORM SURGE IS NOW OVER.HOWEVER TIDES MAY RUN A FOOT
OR TWO ABOVE NORMAL WHERE RAIN BANDS CONTINUE TO MOVE ONSHORE.

WIND IMPACTS.
WINDS HAVE DECREASED TO BELOW TROPICAL STORM STRENGTH. THERE MAY BE
A FEW GUSTS TO NEAR 30 KNOTS IN SOME OF THE HEAVIER SHOWERS IN THE
LINGERING RAIN BANDS.

RAINFALL INFORMATION.
ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE HEAVY RAIN HAS PASSED.MANY RIVERS & SMALL
STREAMS WILL REMAIN IN FLOOD FOR A FEW DAYS.

DAMAGE INFORMATION.
SEVERAL TORNADOES & WATERSPOUTS HAVE BEEN REPORTED ACROSS THE AREA.
MANY HAVE PRODUCED SMALL CONCENTRATED DAMAGE AREAS.

HURRICANE WINDS HAVE KNOCKED NUMEROUS TREES & POWER LINES DOWN.
MANY MOBILE HOMES & OUTBUILDINGS HAVE SUFFERED MAJOR DAMAGE. ONE
SHELTER IN DESOTO COUNTY SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE.LEAVING A
THOUSAND PEOPLE EXPOSED TO THE STORM. ON CAPTIVA ISLAND.AN
ESTIMATED 160 CONDOMINIUMS HAVE BEEN TOTALLY DESTROYED & ANOTHER
160 HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY DAMAGED.

RESIDENTS ARE URGED TO USE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN VENTURING OUTSIDE TO
ASSESS DAMAGES.ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT.

THIS WILL BE THE FINAL HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT FROM THE TAMPA BAY
AREA FORECAST OFFICE FOR HURRICANE CHARLEY.

[nanajoanie]

Thanks 'mrsswede' for the emergency site. I used to have that but just went with roadrunner and lost some sites in the transfer.