Florida's long race to recover

As the main east-west artery across south Florida, Alligator Alley might be expected to be thick with traffic leaving hurricane Charley's disaster zone as displaced residents seek shelter - and even just a shower - elsewhere across the state.

But the lane leading into the storm-hit area has been busier than the one heading out as convoy after convoy delivers everything from bottled water to bulldozers to help communities back to their feet in the wake of the worst hurricane in 12 years.

The early resoluteness is a sign that authorities want - and may be able to pull off - a quicker cleanup after Charley than after hurricane Andrew in 1992. Several forces are converging to drive a possible speedier response: the sheer magnitude of the need, lessons learned since Andrew, and the political imperative.

Indeed, officials at both the state and federal level are keenly aware of the criticism that dogged President George H. W. Bush's administration following the 1992 cleanup. Back then, there was anger at the perceived slow reaction from Washington. That's one reason President Bush was in a helicopter touring Florida within 48 hours of Charley's headstrong departure, telling one resident in Punta Gorda: "It's going to get cleared up a lot faster than you think."

Yet there is pressure on his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, to perform adeptly as well. Governors know that their fortunes often rise or fall on their management of natural disasters or potential disasters: Think Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis in the blizzard of '78 (favorable) and California Gov. Jerry Brown in the medfly crisis of 1981 (highly criticized).

"We will work our way across the state to reach every individual that needs help and work to get immediate relief to them," said Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), this week.

The challenge, however, is enormous. Florida Power and Light had restored supplies to around 1 million people by early Monday - 200,000 more than at this stage in the hurricane Andrew cleanup 12 years ago - but a million more were still without electricity. Some of those in the most badly affected areas of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, north of Fort Myers, may have to wait another two weeks. The official disaster zone has now been expanded to cover 25 counties to hasten the flow of federal funds.

Exact figures for the number of people left homeless and houses destroyed are not yet known, though the state has requested housing for 10,000 families. In addition, 228 shelters have been opened up to accommodate up to 50,000 displaced people. The death toll from the storms whose winds hit 145 m.p.h. stood at 17 early Monday.

By comparison, hurricane Andrew's 160 m.p.h. fury killed 26 people, destroyed 63,000 homes, and left around 180,000 homeless. It cost the insurance industry $20.3 billion, while Charley's price tag is expected to be between $11 and $15 billion.

Hundreds of people are still said to be missing, though emergency officials caution that some may be individuals who haven't been able to call loved ones. "It's very tricky in all the chaos and confusion to determine whether people are really missing or not," says Steve Williams of the South Florida Regional Disaster Medical Assistance Team.

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