Tuesday, September 28, 2004
In dollars and woe, Jeanne has high cost in Fla.
Bush seeks $7.1 billion more to aid region; two S.C. deaths reported
The Associated Press
Updated: 6:43 p.m. ET Sept. 28, 2004
FORT PIERCE, Fla. - Jeanne claimed two more lives, this time in South Carolina, as remnants from the storm dumped rain along parts of the Southeast and East Coast on Tuesday, while Floridians continued with their fourth hurricane cleanup in six weeks.
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Tom Gallagher, Florida’s top insurance regulator, said Jeanne added $6 billion in insured losses to nearly $12 billion estimated from Charley, Frances and Ivan, for a total that exceeds the $15 billion tally from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the world’s costliest natural disaster at the time. At least 79 people have been killed by the four storms in Florida.
Insured losses from Jeanne alone are estimated at $5 billion to $9 billion, insurance experts said.
“These people are in hurricane shock,” Gallagher said Tuesday. He noted his estimate of private insurance claims for Jeanne does not include a high rate of flood damage, which is covered by a federal program. Overall damage is usually about double the insured total, experts have said.
“We’re weary. We’re tired. We have been doing this for more than 30 days,” said Jay Clark, the owner of a yacht dealership in Fort Pierce. “Preparation, then cleanup. Preparation, then cleanup.”
2 die in South CarolinaIn South Carolina, meanwhile, a man died early Tuesday after he was thrown from his mobile home by an apparent tornado Monday evening near Ridgeway. About a dozen people were taken to the hospital, where they were treated and released. Five homes were destroyed.
Another man died late Monday when his car ran off a rain-slicked highway and struck a utility pole near Winnsboro, S.C.
President Bush asked Congress late Monday for more than $7.1 billion to help Florida and other Southeastern states recover from their lashing by four hurricanes. His third request for additional storm aid brings total possible funding to at least $12.2 billion.
Jeanne killed six people in Florida on Sunday, bearing down upon the state with winds of 120 mph. The havoc caused by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne have prompted the largest relief effort ever undertaken by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Click for related story
Washington Post on danger of 'flood cars'
Lines for ice and foodPatience was in demand at staging areas along the state’s central Atlantic coast, where volunteers from the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross passed out bags of ice and containers of water to help residents keep cool under temperatures in the high 80s and massive power outages.
INTERACTIVE
• Birth of a hurricaneHow do they form?
In Indialantic, a line of 40 cars waited in the parking lot of a strip mall where volunteers loaded bags of ice from a semitrailer that had arrived from St. Louis. Residents left behind homes without electricity to dine on hot plates of ravioli and corn and bottles of Snapple.
“It hasn’t been a fun month,” said Louann Dowling, 40, of Satellite Beach, who picked up food and ice for her four children.
Florida is the first state to get pounded by four hurricanes in one season since Texas in 1886. Two months remain in the 2004 hurricane season.
Dowling said the combination of the storms have caused financial hardships; her husband lost his job in the telecommunications industry after Frances and she has had her hours cut back at the hospital she works at.
getCSS("3053751");
Hurricane guide
• Hurricane facts and figures
• Wind-proofing your property
• Hurricane health and safety
• Worst U.S. hurricanes
• Ten deadliest U.S. hurricanes
• Timeline of worst U.S. weatherDown the line, Jeff Sermon, 46, and Ann Yates, 43, sat in their red pickup truck in search of a hot meal, ice and water to bring back to their house in Melbourne Beach that lacks power. “I have an awful headache,” Yates said, reclining in the passenger seat, perspiring in the hot, humid weather.
At the only Home Depot in nearby Vero Beach, 75 people waited for tarps, gas cans and other supplies to begin repairing their homes. In a separate line, 25 people waited for generators on the promise that a shipment of 300 was on the way.
In Fort Pierce, Gladys Caldwell knew exactly how long she had waited for water and ice at a distribution station — “two hours and 18 minutes” — but could keep it all in perspective. The city’s historic downtown area was marked by dangling power lines and flooded roads.
“I thank God that at least I have part of my house,” Caldwell said. “Some people lost everything.”
Thousands helping in recoveryThe unprecedented relief effort includes more than 5,000 FEMA workers spread over 15 states. Nearly 3,800 National Guardsmen were providing security, directing traffic, distributing supplies and keeping gas lines orderly.
Local coverage
• WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, Fla.
• Daytona Beach News-Journal
• WTVJ-TV, Miami, Fla.
• Tampa Bay Online
• WESH-TV, Orlando, Fla.
• WNCN-TV, Raleigh, N.C.
• Savannah Morning News, Ga.
• WNCN-TV, Raleigh, N.C.
In Florida alone, relief workers have passed out at least 16 million meals, 9 million gallons of water and nearly 59 million pounds of ice over the course of the four storms, state officials said.
Jeanne also caused more problems to two key industries in Florida: citrus and tourism.
Florida citrus growers lost about half of their grapefruit crop during Frances. And with the ground soaked from previous storms, trees toppled more easily this time. Fruit was scattered throughout groves.
Orlando’s theme parks closed for the third time this season during Jeanne, and many hotels along the Atlantic coast were heavily damaged.
Nearly 1.9 million homes and businesses in Florida were still without power from Jeanne. About 40,000 people in the Panhandle were still without power in the area hit by Ivan.
Charley hammered Florida’s southwest coast Aug. 13; Frances blanketed much of the peninsula as it crawled through Labor Day weekend; and Ivan blasted the Panhandle when it hit Sept. 16. The three storms caused billions of dollars in damage and killed 73 people in Florida alone.
Related story
Suicides, violence building in Florida
Flooding, tornadoes farther northEarlier, Jeanne caused flooding in Haiti that killed more than 1,500 people. The storm weakened after plowing across Florida, but brought heavy rain and fierce wind to the already-soggy South.
In Georgia, the storm’s remnants toppled trees, washed out dozens of roads and left more than 76,000 residents without power. Tornadoes spawned by the storm also destroyed buildings in South Carolina.
Two counties — Charlton and Lowndes — appeared to be among the hardest hit areas in Georgia, the state Emergency Management Agency said Monday.
Jeanne washed out dozens of roads, damaged a courthouse roof and downed trees in Charlton County, which includes much of the Okefenokee Swamp. A handful of coffins also washed up in Folkston, Ga., when flooding hit a cemetery there.
Click for related story
Jeanne survivors in Haiti still short on food
Rip currents possible in S.C.In South Carolina, forecasters said the fringes of Jeanne could produce treacherous rip currents and beach erosion along the coastline.
No injuries had been reported early Tuesday in North Carolina, where Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency and activated National Guard troops for storm response.
“If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, the best thing to do is to get out,” said Tim Miller, western coordinator for the North Carolina Emergency Management Office.
Possible tornadoes spun out ahead of the storm swept down parts of buildings, flipped cars and toppled trees and power lines in central North Carolina. The state already had been hit this year by the storms or remnants of the storms Alex, Bonnie, Charley, Gaston, Frances and Ivan.
Click for related story
NBC: Floridians are just worn out
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Bush seeks $7.1 billion more to aid region; two S.C. deaths reported
The Associated Press
Updated: 6:43 p.m. ET Sept. 28, 2004
FORT PIERCE, Fla. - Jeanne claimed two more lives, this time in South Carolina, as remnants from the storm dumped rain along parts of the Southeast and East Coast on Tuesday, while Floridians continued with their fourth hurricane cleanup in six weeks.
advertisement
Tom Gallagher, Florida’s top insurance regulator, said Jeanne added $6 billion in insured losses to nearly $12 billion estimated from Charley, Frances and Ivan, for a total that exceeds the $15 billion tally from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the world’s costliest natural disaster at the time. At least 79 people have been killed by the four storms in Florida.
Insured losses from Jeanne alone are estimated at $5 billion to $9 billion, insurance experts said.
“These people are in hurricane shock,” Gallagher said Tuesday. He noted his estimate of private insurance claims for Jeanne does not include a high rate of flood damage, which is covered by a federal program. Overall damage is usually about double the insured total, experts have said.
“We’re weary. We’re tired. We have been doing this for more than 30 days,” said Jay Clark, the owner of a yacht dealership in Fort Pierce. “Preparation, then cleanup. Preparation, then cleanup.”
2 die in South CarolinaIn South Carolina, meanwhile, a man died early Tuesday after he was thrown from his mobile home by an apparent tornado Monday evening near Ridgeway. About a dozen people were taken to the hospital, where they were treated and released. Five homes were destroyed.
Another man died late Monday when his car ran off a rain-slicked highway and struck a utility pole near Winnsboro, S.C.
President Bush asked Congress late Monday for more than $7.1 billion to help Florida and other Southeastern states recover from their lashing by four hurricanes. His third request for additional storm aid brings total possible funding to at least $12.2 billion.
Jeanne killed six people in Florida on Sunday, bearing down upon the state with winds of 120 mph. The havoc caused by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne have prompted the largest relief effort ever undertaken by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Click for related story
Washington Post on danger of 'flood cars'
Lines for ice and foodPatience was in demand at staging areas along the state’s central Atlantic coast, where volunteers from the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross passed out bags of ice and containers of water to help residents keep cool under temperatures in the high 80s and massive power outages.
INTERACTIVE
• Birth of a hurricaneHow do they form?
In Indialantic, a line of 40 cars waited in the parking lot of a strip mall where volunteers loaded bags of ice from a semitrailer that had arrived from St. Louis. Residents left behind homes without electricity to dine on hot plates of ravioli and corn and bottles of Snapple.
“It hasn’t been a fun month,” said Louann Dowling, 40, of Satellite Beach, who picked up food and ice for her four children.
Florida is the first state to get pounded by four hurricanes in one season since Texas in 1886. Two months remain in the 2004 hurricane season.
Dowling said the combination of the storms have caused financial hardships; her husband lost his job in the telecommunications industry after Frances and she has had her hours cut back at the hospital she works at.
getCSS("3053751");
Hurricane guide
• Hurricane facts and figures
• Wind-proofing your property
• Hurricane health and safety
• Worst U.S. hurricanes
• Ten deadliest U.S. hurricanes
• Timeline of worst U.S. weatherDown the line, Jeff Sermon, 46, and Ann Yates, 43, sat in their red pickup truck in search of a hot meal, ice and water to bring back to their house in Melbourne Beach that lacks power. “I have an awful headache,” Yates said, reclining in the passenger seat, perspiring in the hot, humid weather.
At the only Home Depot in nearby Vero Beach, 75 people waited for tarps, gas cans and other supplies to begin repairing their homes. In a separate line, 25 people waited for generators on the promise that a shipment of 300 was on the way.
In Fort Pierce, Gladys Caldwell knew exactly how long she had waited for water and ice at a distribution station — “two hours and 18 minutes” — but could keep it all in perspective. The city’s historic downtown area was marked by dangling power lines and flooded roads.
“I thank God that at least I have part of my house,” Caldwell said. “Some people lost everything.”
Thousands helping in recoveryThe unprecedented relief effort includes more than 5,000 FEMA workers spread over 15 states. Nearly 3,800 National Guardsmen were providing security, directing traffic, distributing supplies and keeping gas lines orderly.
Local coverage
• WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, Fla.
• Daytona Beach News-Journal
• WTVJ-TV, Miami, Fla.
• Tampa Bay Online
• WESH-TV, Orlando, Fla.
• WNCN-TV, Raleigh, N.C.
• Savannah Morning News, Ga.
• WNCN-TV, Raleigh, N.C.
In Florida alone, relief workers have passed out at least 16 million meals, 9 million gallons of water and nearly 59 million pounds of ice over the course of the four storms, state officials said.
Jeanne also caused more problems to two key industries in Florida: citrus and tourism.
Florida citrus growers lost about half of their grapefruit crop during Frances. And with the ground soaked from previous storms, trees toppled more easily this time. Fruit was scattered throughout groves.
Orlando’s theme parks closed for the third time this season during Jeanne, and many hotels along the Atlantic coast were heavily damaged.
Nearly 1.9 million homes and businesses in Florida were still without power from Jeanne. About 40,000 people in the Panhandle were still without power in the area hit by Ivan.
Charley hammered Florida’s southwest coast Aug. 13; Frances blanketed much of the peninsula as it crawled through Labor Day weekend; and Ivan blasted the Panhandle when it hit Sept. 16. The three storms caused billions of dollars in damage and killed 73 people in Florida alone.
Related story
Suicides, violence building in Florida
Flooding, tornadoes farther northEarlier, Jeanne caused flooding in Haiti that killed more than 1,500 people. The storm weakened after plowing across Florida, but brought heavy rain and fierce wind to the already-soggy South.
In Georgia, the storm’s remnants toppled trees, washed out dozens of roads and left more than 76,000 residents without power. Tornadoes spawned by the storm also destroyed buildings in South Carolina.
Two counties — Charlton and Lowndes — appeared to be among the hardest hit areas in Georgia, the state Emergency Management Agency said Monday.
Jeanne washed out dozens of roads, damaged a courthouse roof and downed trees in Charlton County, which includes much of the Okefenokee Swamp. A handful of coffins also washed up in Folkston, Ga., when flooding hit a cemetery there.
Click for related story
Jeanne survivors in Haiti still short on food
Rip currents possible in S.C.In South Carolina, forecasters said the fringes of Jeanne could produce treacherous rip currents and beach erosion along the coastline.
No injuries had been reported early Tuesday in North Carolina, where Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency and activated National Guard troops for storm response.
“If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, the best thing to do is to get out,” said Tim Miller, western coordinator for the North Carolina Emergency Management Office.
Possible tornadoes spun out ahead of the storm swept down parts of buildings, flipped cars and toppled trees and power lines in central North Carolina. The state already had been hit this year by the storms or remnants of the storms Alex, Bonnie, Charley, Gaston, Frances and Ivan.
Click for related story
NBC: Floridians are just worn out
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
PRINT THIS ARTICLE
document.write('EMAIL THIS ARTICLE');
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
getCSS("3053751");
MORE FROM WEATHER
NBC: Floridians are just tired
• In dollars and misery, Jeanne has high cost
• NBC: Floridians are just tired
• NBC: In Haiti, desperation continues
• Newborns at risk in Haitian disaster area
• Housing crunch hits weary Florida
• Hurricane tracking isn't an exact science
• Your local weather
• Latest weather news
• Terror suspects seized in Iraq
• Two Italian women hostages freed
• Bush seeks $7 billion in storm aid
• Quake rattles Central California
• Study: Half of Web Viagra is fake
• Bob Dylan opens up
• Russert: Debate key for Kerry
• ‘Origins’ takes on ... everything
• Forbes 400 richest Americans
• Savings Sleuth: Cheap flights to Oz
