Disaster in the making in Florida (Hurricane Charley)

The descriptions of what is happening in Port Charlotte are flat out frightening. Fort Myers is under water. about 20 minutes ago they said there had already been 5 inches of rain. The hurricane has taken the worst possible path and the eye has stalled directly over the water in Port Charlotte, thus keeping the hurricane fed and therefore not degrading in strength. Good Karma out to all those in south west florida.

Charley reached landfall at 3:50 p.m. EDT Friday at Sanibel Island, Fla. with a wall of water expected to exceed 10 feet, packing winds of 145 mph after being upgraded to a Category 4 storm, which can cause severe damage and and flood coastal areas with 18-foot storm surges - near Captiva Island, which is just southwest of Fort Myers (Sanibel and Captiva lie on the Gulf of Mexico just west of Fort Myers,sometimes called "the Shell Islands," not because of the abundance of shells on the beach, but because the islands themselves are made out of shells) and about 160 miles southeast of the Tampa Bay area that includes Tampa and St. Petersburg. Fort Myers itself was hit by 60 mph winds, storm surges and heavy rain before the storm veered slightly north - It hit the mainland near Charlotte Harbor about 4:15 p.m. $15 billion in losses feared







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