Most people were still at home when Charley arrived. They had listened to the news all day, and according to the weather reports, the storm would make landfall around Tampa. But Charley suddenly took a sharp turn, strengthened to a powerful Category 4 hurricane and roared toward Port Charlotte with winds up to 180 miles per hour. By then, it was too late to evacuate.

In the Pine View mobile home community, the scene is one of total devastation. Frank Jones and his girlfriend Cindy were among those who did not get out in time and rode the storm out at home.

“I didn’t want to stay but I had no choice,” said Jones. “When it came this way the radio said stay where you are, stick it out.” They survived by huddling together under a mattress in the bathroom. The storm blew the sliding glass doors completely off their house and took the mirrors off Frank’s truck.

After carving a path of destruction through an area of Florida that hasn’t seen a storm of this magnitude in more than 40 years, Charley took at least 13 lives, injured hundreds and left approximately 15,000 people homeless. With many still missing and search and recovery efforts ongoing, the death toll could rise.

In Port Charlotte businesses were completely lost. One man drove into town expecting to open his hardware store and hand out generators, only to find his shop completely flattened. Friends and neighbors were helping him salvage what he could, which was very little. Every other business in the shopping area was completely destroyed.

In response the American Red Cross has mobilized a massive relief effort—so far more than 50,000 meals have been served and more than 250 shelters were opened across the state, with many still housing people with no home to return to.

Down the road in Punta Gorda just south of Port Charlotte, the truth of just how dangerously strong this storm was is painfully evident. Street signs litter the ground with silver metal scraps wrapped around them like garland on a Christmas tree.

Further north in Arcadia, another hard hit town, evacuees were forced to move during the storm when the roof of a temporary Red Cross shelter collapsed as the winds raged outside. A resourceful group of Red Cross youth corps volunteers quickly moved the shelter to DeSoto High School across the street and began calming the frightened evacuees and serving them meals, despite the leaky roof and lack of power. And the volunteers are still at it.

“The community has been coming in all day for food and water,” said Red Cross youth corps volunteer Robert Dinwoodie. “It’s nuts but we are doing our best.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates damage costs will exceed $15 billion. The area has been declared a federal disaster area, making it eligible for millions of dollars in aid.