Hello...........After experiencing Hurricane Charley's wrath intimately 2 1/2 weeks ago Charlotte County Florida is in no shape to experience any more bad weather! Debris is piled up everywhere and surely won't be hauled away before Frances arrives. My roof and thousands of others have tarps on them and any winds over 25 mph will cause more water damage inside our homes. I'm still waiting for the Army Corps of Engineers to put a better tarp on my roof. I bought some plywood today to cover the windows which don't have any hurricane awnings on them anymore. The prep I did before Charley did help lessen the damage I have. I'm doing all I can but am having a hard time being optimistic about this weekend...........
Many people I know are leaving now and just don't want to be here if and when another hurricane tears us apart. I'm here for the duration. I'm a volunteer on my County's First-In Hurricane Team. Members from various county departments and law enforcement bunker down together during the storm in a county shelter. We are the first officials to report any damage and needs for state or federal help. I've been on this team since its inception after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. 12 years of training, 3 previous activations for storms that missed us, and now 2 actual storms in one season! Boy.....am I tired! Frances is a much larger storm than Charley was. It certainly looks like it is going to effect a whole lot of people. Please prepare the best you can is the only advise I can offer. Good luck. -charley