Hurricane Charley August 13, 2004
Turner Agri-Civic
Center - Arcadia, Florida
When we
heard that Hurricane
Charley was heading towards Matlacha (where my father lives) and that
it would
cause 10-20 foot storm surges, we decided to get out of there. We
headed inland
to a town called
We joined 1,400 other people at the shelter. The mood was cheerful,
almost like the gathering before a concert. As the winds started
getting
stronger, the noise inside got louder. We started noticing a panel of
roofing
at the far end of the building starting to lift, much like a tarp not
tied down
tight enough. It started to lift higher and higher, and an announcement
came to
get to the opposite end of the building. We did so, and shortly
thereafter, the
far end of the roof started to blow off. Bits of paneling and
insulation were
swirling around the building. Many people started running out of the
building
into the storm. Next we heard a wrenching sound and saw that the roof
was
coming down. We headed down a concrete corridor which dead-ended into a
dressing room. We spend the next half-hour or so, standing in a layer
of water
with 20-30 other people waiting. It was the most terrifying incident of
my
life.
We were finally led out of the dressing room and to a docking bay where
we were
transported to the high school across the street. Later that evening we
reconnected with my dad and brother and spent the night back at the
hotel.
Karen and I went back the next morning to collect our belongings. When
we saw
the damage we were amazed. Not only had the roof blown off, but the
whole wall
had come down along with it. We snuck inside to get our things. We
surveyed the
damage, it was like a bomb had gone off. We counted ourselves very
lucky, got
our things, and got out as fast as we could.
The following are some pictures of the hotel room we would have been in
(sans
roof) and the
