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World & Nation

President Bush declares major disaster in Florida

Downed.
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Power poles blown over by Hurricane Charley lie across Lake Margaret Dr. in southeast Orlando Saturday, August 14, 2004.  (Bobby Coker/ Orlando Sentinel)
Couple surveys the damage
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“What do we do now?” asked John Morrison, wondering aloud how he and his wife of 57 years, Jewel Morrison, are going to pick up the pieces of their Punta Gorda mobile home left behind by Hurricane Charley. “I don’t even know where to begin, but it’s just stuff, right? We have each other and that’s the most important thing.”  (Melissa Lyttle/South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Airport damage
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Hurricane Charley ripped through Punta Gorda Regional Airport, causing extensive damage.  (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Tricycle ride through devastated streets
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With the roads closed off to most vehicles, Marion Lindley, 87, of Punta Gorda uses her tricycle to maneuver through the devastation of what used to be the Parkhill Mobile Home Park where she retired about 12 years ago. “I just can’t believe my eyes,” said Lindley, who stops to take a picture of the damage caused to a neighbor’s home by Hurricane Charley.  (Melissa Lyttle/South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
People in Tampa gather donations
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Gathering aid
People bring donations to help victims of Hurricane Charley to the News Center in Tampa, Sunday.  (AP PHOTO/TODD L. CHAPPEL)
Temporary fix.
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Homeowners near Oviedo tack down a tarp over their exposed roof, left bare by Charley. The storm scoured shingles off the rooftops of dozens of homes near Chiles Middle School.  (HILDA M. PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Clearing out.
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David J. Migeneault sits in his devastated law office in The Professional Building in downtown Punta Gorda on Saturday. He is clearing it out after Charley ripped through town on Friday packing 145-mph winds.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Westbound traffic.
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Vehicles heading back to the Gulf Coast clog Interstate 4 on Saturday. One man returning to Treasure Island spent more than six hours on the road.  (HILDA M. PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Street scene.
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Lia Piantini sits in Livingston Street in the Colonialtown area of Orlando and makes a telephone call as a huge fallen tree blocks the road Saturday.  (BOBBY COKER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Food.
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Diners line up Saturday at Louie’s Bar-B-Q on U.S. Highway 17-92 in Sanford. Despite having no power himself, owner Tim Carner (right) set up grills in front of the restaurant.  (DENNIS WALL/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Last tree standing.
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A shredded palm tree stands among the rubble in Punta Gorda after hurricane Charley passed through the night before.  (GARY W. GREEN/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Taking in the damage.
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Jaqui Krouze (left), Shirley Rangeloff and Victor Rangeloff can’t believe their eyes upon entering their neighborhood in the Windmill Village mobile home park in Punta Gorda.  (GARY W. GREEN/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Looking for victims.
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Dave Stokes of the Charlotte County Fire Department looks for bodies among the rubble in Windmill Village mobile home in Punta Gorda. Two people were feared dead from the community, but neighbors found them alive and well.  (GARY W. GREEN/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Crushed
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This 1993 Ford Festiva was smashed by trees downed during Hurrican Charley at the home of Chuck Ellis and Tracy Hickson on Sandspur Road in Maitland.  (Miriam Lorenzi/Orlando Sentinel)
At a loss.
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Marilyn Bean fights back tears and emotion upon seeing her home for the first time after Hurricane Charley swept through the Windmill Village mobile home park in Punta Gorda.  (GARY W. GREEN/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Roofless in Punta Gorda.
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A hair salon in the historic district of Punta Gorda had its roof blown off during Hurricane Charley.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
'Like a war zone.'
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Rose Sneider takes photos of her property in Punta Gordon. “It looks like a war zone,” she said Saturday, a day after Hurricane Charley tore through.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Surveying the damage.
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Christopher Smith rides his bike down Marion Avenue early Saturday morning in Punta Gorda.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Saving what she can.
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Lois West salvages a toaster oven from the rubble as Lucien Jones looks through the refrigerator. They live together at Slip Knot Mobile Home Park in Punta Gorda.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Gutted.
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David J. Migneault sits in his law office in The Professional Building in downtown Punta Gorda. He is clearing it out after Hurricane Charley swept through a day earlier.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Crushed trailer.
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An trailer flipped in this front yard in Punta Gorda when Hurricane Charley swept through a day earlier.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Unbelievable.
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Audrey Desforge is filled with “dispair and disbelief”. She and her husband, Moe, came back to their mobile home in Windmill Village to get personal belongings. They have lived there since 1983.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Leaving it behind.
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Bob Healy, a recent resident at Windmill Village, packed his bags to leave. His home was demolished.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
After the storm.
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Residents walk through Windmill Village on Saturday after the devastation of Hurricane Charley.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Damage in Punta Gorda.
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Hurricane Charley devastated Windmill Village in Punta Gorda.  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
So much gone.
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Anne M. Loehnert (left) sits on what was her home with her friend, Jane McCallum (right) at Windmill Village in Punta Gorda. She is looking for her cat and says “I just got the clothes on my back.”  (JULIE FLETCHER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Dense debris.
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Fallen trees block the roads on George Avenue and North Maitland Avenue in Maitland in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley on Saturday. Damaged trees may be in the thousands, an Orlando parks employee said.  (RICARDO RAMIREZ BUXEDA /ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Cleaning up.
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Joshua Portes, 13, (left) and Pedro Medrano remove a tree limb from a home in Altamonte Springs in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley on Saturday.  (RICARDO RAMIREZ BUXEDA/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Damaged home.
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Pearl Johnson (right) gets a hug from neighbor Esther Dutt in front of her home of in southeast Orlando on Saturday. Esther’s husband, Kenneth Dutt, stands at left. During Hurricane Charley, a giant oak split with half of the tree landing on the house and the other half landing on the street.  (BOBBY COKER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Unwelcome visitor.
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Pearl Johnson looks at a limb from a giant oak Saturday that came through her garage ceiling in her southeast Orlando home durint Hurricane Charley.  (BOBBY COKER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
At a loss.
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Pat Turner, 76, of Daytona Beach lost everything in her apartment off State Road A1A during Hurricane Charley. She takes a look at the damage on Saturday.  (EILEEN MARIE SIMONEAU/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Debris.
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Rick Constantino of Daytona Beach checks out Charley damage at the Bell Air Condominium in Daytona Beach.  (EILEEN MARIE SIMONEAU/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Major damage.
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The Ranger Aviation hanger at Kissimee Gateway Airport in Osceola County was shredded by Hurricane Charley.  (HILDA M PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Damaged homes.
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Many trees toppled over roofs in Central Florida homes from Hurricane Charley such as this one in east Orange County.  (HILDA M PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
High school damaged.
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The roof at the gym of Poinciana High School in Osceola County had major damage from Hurricane Charley. Other schools around Central Florida had losses from Friday night’s storm.  (HILDA M PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Taking stock.
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A homeowner at the Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park in Osceola County takes belongings outside after Hurricane Charley.  (HILDA M PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Fallen.
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Hurricane Charley downed trees on a golf course in Kissimmee in Osceola County.  (HILDA M PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Wind-whipped.
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Cleanup from Hurricane Charley continued Saturday at damaged businesses like this furniture store along State Road 50 in Orlando.  (HILDA M PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Taking toll.
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As a result of Hurricane Charley, Janet Parker (right) lost the brick wall of her Oak Park subdivision behind her home east of Casselberry as well as her pool screen. Surveying the damage with her are her sister Jeana Houghton (left) and Patrick Houghton.  (DENNIS WALL/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Close call
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Safe inside on Saturday morning, Tracy Hickson calls family while surveying the massive Oak tree that narrowly missed her home on Sandspur Road in Maitland.  (MIRIAM LORENZI/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
Milk shakes
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A TG Lee Dairy semi trailer tipped over by Hurricane Charley on east Livingston St in Orlando on Saturday, August 14, 2004.  (Bobby Coker/ Orlando Sentinel)
Naples unplugged
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Richard Gazda emerges from flood water after trying to clean out the drains near his home in Naples Fla. after Hurricane Charley moved through the area, Friday, Aug. 13, 2004.  (AP PHOTO/NAPLES DAILY NEWS, JUSTIN L. FOWLER)
Associated Press
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Bush declared a major disaster in the state of Florida today, ordering federal aid for the recovery effort just two hours after Hurricane Charley hit the mainland.

Federal funding will be available to Charlotte, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties. People affected by the storm in those areas are eligible for temporary housing grants and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to aid in their recovery.

State and local governments can also receive 75 percent federal sharing basis.

FEMA said more counties and forms of assistance may be designated after the storm’s damage is assessed.

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Residents and business owners in counties covered by the disaster declaration can apply for assistance beginning Saturday by calling FEMA at 1-800-621-3362, or 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing and speech impaired, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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