What we're dealing with here is something that nobody has ever had to deal with in Florida (or most of the US) before. I know people who lost their homes from Charley. And I know people who had damage from Charley, and then Frances came in and finished off their homes. If you drive through central Florida right now, there are houses standing, but their windows are still boarded up, and there are still plastic tarps where their roofs used to be. They'll probably be boarded up and tarped for a long time to come. Trees are lining the roads like hedges, and it's only getting worse. There is so much debris that there aren't enough people to pick it up, or enough places to put it. There's not enough time to fix the roofs. To turn back on the power. To fix the water. Not before we get hit again. Ever try to stand up when someone keeps punching you in the face? That's what we're dealing with here.

We survive on tourism. Flights are being canceled. Cruises are being re-routed or canceled. Theme parks that NEVER close are shutting down for days at a time. We're talking about billions of dollars in lost revenue. Places that are going to close their doors forever due to bankruptcy from all that lost revenue. Thousands of people are taking unpaid vacations that they can't afford to take, meaning that come rent time, they're going to be broke this month. And the very real possibility that once the theme park or restaurant or whatever they work for closes it's doors again, it'll be for good.

The shelters haven't really closed since Charley, three weeks ago. People evacuate for the storm, then go back home afterwards, only to find out that they're going to have to evacuate again in less than a week. Every time they go back, they're not sure how much more of home will be gone.
Andrew happened, and then it went away. Charley is still with us. Frances is still flooding our streets. And it's only a couple of months into Hurricane Season. September and October are the worst months. We've had three hurricanes already (Hurricane Bonnie hit the panhandle, Charley and Frances the penninsula), in less than four weeks. Now we're looking at Ivan, and I'll tell you this... we're all terrified.

Many of us are still without power. You can see that these conditions bring out either the best or the worse in people. It's very sad. People's homes are being broken into and they're losing what's left of their possessions after Frances.

People can't buy electricity, gas or a hot meal in some cases. We're still under curfew. Many businesses are running off of generators just to generate some income and help the public at the same time.

Our paper will lose millions in Labor Day and advertising revenue over the next few weeks or months depending on if Ivan hits. This domino effect from all these businesses will indeed lead to layoffs, bankruptcy etc..

If you can't send money please write a letter to your congressman and ask why we can send billions to Iraq but we can't even seem to send enough support to our own people that pay taxes here at home? It seems as if we can send the military to erect a mini city in a matter of days in a foreign country but when it comes to getting a US city back on its feet our government just tries to brush it under the rug.