Hurricane Charley: A Report from Florida

[A friend of ours who is also a contributor to this blog and our website sent this email about the aftermath in Florida from Hurricane Charley. She was spared but came very close to being hit by Charley. Her email speaks for itself, and does so eloquently. While Charley was horrible beyond bearability, it is the human scum who keep the damage going through their gougings and scams. One wants to shoot those scum on sight ... ]


There are no words to describe the devastation. This time the damage is wide-
spread, and the interior counties don't have the resources as most are
concentrated on coastal communities that expect damage.

At least one hundred calls have gone in to complain for price-gouging, and
even here [Florida east coast] scam artists were calling the elderly to get their bank and credit
card numbers.

We will need mental help professionals to help us cope. There are poor
elderly people wandering in a daze as their homes are destroyed; they have
nothing left; there are no facilities nor utilities, phone service, water,
etc.; and their families have no idea whether or nor they are alive or dead.
Heart attacks were wide spread. Thus, those that didn't die immediately are
bound to have a tough time as they can't find their medication, and they are
often trapped in their condos and under rubble. (At least that's the report
given by the rescue personnel that have been able to get to a few condos
only to pry open the doors with crow bars and so on. There are no words to
describe the full scale. I am sure that many will decline and die in the
aftermath.

At least three hospitals were severely damaged, fire and rescue stations, and
rescue equipment totaled. The police are patroling cars with blown out
windows.

People were lulled into believing that the storm would go far north as Tampa
were evacuated to Orlando in order to avoid the storm surge of 16 feet, that
didn't happen, because the cold front steered the storm to north of Ft.
Myers.

Sanibel and Captiva suffered massive building loss, and no one is allowed to
return across those low causeways. It was a beautiful gem. We used to
vacation there.

It gives one pause...

[If you can read this without being touched, check your pulse--you are not alive.]

P.S.: We apologize for the formatting quirks. They are in the responsibility of Google and not us.