Hurricane Frances whacked swaths of Florida with fire-hose force on Sunday, submerging roadways and tearing off roofs before weakening to a tropical storm and crawling inland with heavy rain. More than 5 million people lost power, and two people were killed.
Over 33cm of rain fell along Florida's central east coast, flooding some areas 1.2m deep as Frances edged across the state toward Tampa and the Gulf of Mexico. In its wake, trees and power lines were leveled, broken traffic lights dangled and beachfront roads were littered with coconuts, avocados and tree limbs.
"I was just waiting for the house to blow down," said Diane Wright, who rode out the storm in a mobile home in Fort Pierce.
Hers didn't. But even shelters weren't spared: The roof at a school housing evacuees was partially blown off.
The scope of the enormous storm was evident on Sunday as bands of rain and gusty wind extended the length of the state's 692km east coast and beyond to the Georgia coast. It was expected to move into the panhandle yesterday, then into Georgia and Alabama.
The storm was blamed for at least two deaths in Florida. In the Gainsville area, a man was killed when his car hit a tree, and a woman was killed when a tree crashed onto her mobile home.
There were two earlier deaths in the Bahamas, where thousands were forced from their homes.
Frances razed several mobile homes and made a mess of marinas, throwing dozens of boats against the shore or on top of each other.
Governor Jeb Bush and 20 state and federal emergency officials surveyed damage on Sunday, but the governor said it was too early to assess the extent of the devastation.
President George W. Bush talked to his brother on Sunday afternoon to assure Floridians that federal resources were in place to help respond, a White House spokesman said.
Some 8,000 members of the National Guard were assigned to recovery efforts. Suspected looters were arrested in Palm Beach, Orange and Indian River counties.
Initial reports of destruction did not rival the estimated US$7.4 billion in insured damage caused by Hurricane Charley in southwest Florida three weeks ago. Frances' path overlapped with some of the area hit by Charley, which killed 27 people. One risk-assessment company estimated insured losses could range from $2 billion to $5 billion.
At one time, about 2.8 million residents in 40 counties were told to evacuate from coastal areas, barrier islands, mobile homes and low-lying areas. The largest evacuation in state history sent 108,000 people to shelters.
Airports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Martin County reopened, but those in Orlando and about 10 other cities remained closed. Officials in Miami and Fort Lauderdale told evacuees they could return home.
Heavy rain transformed some neighborhoods into waterfront property. Roads in Palm Beach County were covered by water, and neighbors waded to each others' homes after being shuttered inside for nearly 24 hours.
"All our trees are down and I have a few windows broken, but I don't know what else is flooded because I can't get anywhere," said resident Carline Cadet.
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