Evacuated
An estimated 1.4 million people evacuated in anticipation of the strongest hurricane to strike Florida since Andrew in 1992.
Hurricane Charley made landfall at 3:45pm local time, when the eye passed over barrier islands off Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, some 177km southeast of the Tampa Bay area.
Charley hit the mainland 30 minutes later, with storm surge flooding of up to 4.5m, the hurricane center said. Nearly 1 million people live within 50km of the landfall.
The center was expected to approach the South Carolina coast yesterday morning.
Spared the worst of the storm was the Tampa Bay area, where about a million people had been told to leave their homes.
Some drove east, only to find themselves in the path of the Charley.
"I feel like the biggest fool," said Robert Angel of Tarpon Springs, who sought safety in a motel.
"I spent hundreds of dollars to be in the center of a hurricane. Our home is safe, but now I'm in danger," he said.
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