ST. MARKS, Fla. – Hurricane Frances sloshed into the Florida Panhandle on Monday, taking a second swing at a storm-weary state where it already had knocked out power to 6 million people, torn up roofs and boats and been blamed for at least nine deaths.
While panhandle residents rode out the tropical storm’s heavy rain and wind blowing at a sustained 65 mph, shutters started coming down in the south and residents began returning to homes they had evacuated.
The return revealed fresh hardship as motorists waited for gasoline in queues that stretched up to five miles, and others stood in enormous lines to get water, ice and other basic supplies. There was even a long line at a dump in Miami, where 25 cars waited to dispose of storm debris.
“We really hope to get ice and everything else. We don’t know what they have in there,” said Christine Bland, standing in line with about 1,500 other people at a Wal-Mart in Palm Beach County. Up the coast in Fort Pierce, hundreds of people stood in a line with buckets and ice chests on a sunny, steamy afternoon.
More than 3 million people remained without power Monday night.
President Bush, expected to survey the damage Wednesday, is asking Congress to approve $2 billion to help victims of hurricanes Charley and Frances.
The core of the storm, once a powerful Category 4 hurricane before it slowed somewhat, slammed into the state’s Atlantic coast early Sunday. After crossing the state and a corner of the Gulf of Mexico, it made its second Florida landfall at St. Marks, 20 miles south of Tallahassee, early Monday afternoon. At 8 p.m. EDT, maximum sustained winds had dropped to near 40 mph.
In Tampa, 105 residents of a retirement home were evacuated in wheelchairs with floodwaters lapping at their knees. The water seeped into the home from a retention pond.
Heather Downs moved into the home two weeks ago after her apartment was badly damaged by Charley. “I’m not scared,” said Downs, standing outside in bare feet. “I’ve been through a lot.”
Forecasters said Frances could bring up to 10 inches of rain and a 5- to 10-foot storm surge to the Panhandle. Four coastal counties ordered evacuations.
Frances was moving north-northwest at about 8 mph, forecasters said, and bound for Georgia and Alabama.
“You can tell it’s getting very close – there’s lots of rain, lots of wind now,” said Penny Bolin, executive director of the Red Cross chapter in Albany, Ga. “What we’re concerned most about is flooding – we’re expecting large amounts of rainfall.”
But while Frances was heading out of Florida, residents had started keeping a wary eye on yet another storm. Ivan, the fifth hurricane of the year, had sustained wind of near 105 mph and was centered 210 miles southeast of Barbados in the central Atlantic. Forecasters weren’t sure whether it would hit the United States, but Floridians are fed up after contending with Frances and Charley over the past month.
“This is ridiculous,” Anne Bruno said as flooding forced her onto a detour as she tried to drive back to Palm Bay from Sebring. “And we got another one coming? I’m staying home. No money, no gas and stuck inside with a mother-in-law for four days – no way.”
At a Florida Turnpike rest stop in West Palm Beach – one of the few places in the area with gas and power – a 5-mile line of motorists waited for fuel. “It took a little while, but I’m glad to be here,” said Greg McCourt, who waited an hour to get gas for a trip to Georgia.
Airports in Tampa, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Key West reopened. As of midday, more than 73,000 people remained in shelters, down from about 108,000 on Sunday. The largest evacuation in state history had affected 47 of Florida’s 67 counties.
“I’ve gone through all these Florida storms without going to a shelter,” 100-year-old Gladys Swezey said after Gov. Jeb Bush paid a visit. “I find this quite disturbing – to make such a to-do out of a storm. In the old days, we’d just stay home and do what we can to keep the water out.”
Associated Press
Shoppers grapple for bags of ice Monday at a supermarket in West Palm Beach, Fla. Lines were long and supplies were limited as residents began to recover from Hurricane Frances.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
