Tweet
From MSNBC....
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Hurricane Charley roared ashore as a dangerous Category 4 storm Friday on Sanibel Island as it pounded populous west-central Florida with 145 mph wind and a surge of water expected to exceed 10 feet.
Gov. Jeb Bush said damage could exceed $15 billion. Airports and theme parks hurriedly closed as the storm blew toward land and shelters filled with evacuees. As many as 5,000 customers were reported to be without electric power in the Sarasota area.
Forecasters feared a potentially devastating storm surge of up to 20 feet that could submerge miles of coastline. The surge “is going to be the main killer,” said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “This is the nightmare scenario that we’ve been talking about for years.”
Inland areas were likely to get “clobbered,” as well, Mayfield told NBC affiliate WBBH-TV of Fort Myers.
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Hurricane Charley roared ashore as a dangerous Category 4 storm Friday on Sanibel Island as it pounded populous west-central Florida with 145 mph wind and a surge of water expected to exceed 10 feet.
Gov. Jeb Bush said damage could exceed $15 billion. Airports and theme parks hurriedly closed as the storm blew toward land and shelters filled with evacuees. As many as 5,000 customers were reported to be without electric power in the Sarasota area.
Forecasters feared a potentially devastating storm surge of up to 20 feet that could submerge miles of coastline. The surge “is going to be the main killer,” said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “This is the nightmare scenario that we’ve been talking about for years.”
Inland areas were likely to get “clobbered,” as well, Mayfield told NBC affiliate WBBH-TV of Fort Myers.
Comment