Hurricane Charley Comes Ashore
ByCBS/APAugust 14, 2004,
5:47 AM
A stronger-than-expected Hurricane
Charley roared ashore Friday as a dangerous Category 4 storm, slamming the
heavily populated Gulf Coast with devastating storm surges and 145 mph wind
that snapped trees in half, ripped roofs off buildings and knocked out power to
hundreds of thousands of people. The hurricane struck west-central Florida at
Charlotte Harbor with a wicked combination of water and wind. A surge of sea
water reached up to 15 feet high, the National Hurricane Center said. Winds blew off the roof of
a hurricane shelter where 1,200 people had gathered and tore apart small planes
at the Charlotte County airport.
Two traffic deaths were reported in Florida. Earlier, Charley had been blamed for three deaths in Cuba and one in Jamaica. Gov. Jeb Bush said damage could exceed $15 billion but cautioned it was a preliminary estimate as the storm headed across the center of Florida toward the Orlando area. President Bush declared the storm-battered region a federal disaster area.
Airports and theme parks hurriedly closed before the storm arrived, the Kennedy Space Center sent workers home early, 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.
veering to the right at the last moment, bring it ashore 70 miles south of the Tampa Bay area, where more than 2 million had been urged to evacuate. "Our prayers are with you and your families tonight," the president said in Seattle.
"This is the nightmare scenario that we've been talking about for years," hurricane center Director Max Mayfield said of storm surges that ranged from 10 to 15 feet.
The storm could mimic the path of Hurricane Donna, a 1960 hurricane swept across Florida from west to east, and then turned north and hit nearly every state on the East Coast from South Carolina to New England, reports CBS News Anchor Dan Rather. 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.
Two traffic deaths were reported in Florida. Earlier, Charley had been blamed for three deaths in Cuba and one in Jamaica. Gov. Jeb Bush said damage could exceed $15 billion but cautioned it was a preliminary estimate as the storm headed across the center of Florida toward the Orlando area. President Bush declared the storm-battered region a federal disaster area.
Airports and theme parks hurriedly closed before the storm arrived, the Kennedy Space Center sent workers home early, 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.
veering to the right at the last moment, bring it ashore 70 miles south of the Tampa Bay area, where more than 2 million had been urged to evacuate. "Our prayers are with you and your families tonight," the president said in Seattle.
"This is the nightmare scenario that we've been talking about for years," hurricane center Director Max Mayfield said of storm surges that ranged from 10 to 15 feet.
The storm could mimic the path of Hurricane Donna, a 1960 hurricane swept across Florida from west to east, and then turned north and hit nearly every state on the East Coast from South Carolina to New England, reports CBS News Anchor Dan Rather. 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.
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