Floridian students moving to Tempe felt Hurricane Charley's force thousands of miles from the wind-battered coasts of their home state.
Adam Frus, a geology junior from Jacksonville, Fla., said his first thoughts were for his parents' safety as he watched coverage of Charley's wrath from a hotel in Texas.
"You have to cross your fingers and hope for the best," said Frus. Although his family and house were spared from the storm, he had friends in the hard-hit county of Punta Gorda.
The county's airport is only operating during daylight hours and residents have been advised to clean their own water by boiling it because of water troubles.
Charley, a category 4 hurricane, made landfall on Aug. 13. The storm took approximately nine hours to cut a path across the Florida peninsula.
According to the state's Emergency Operations Center, Charley struck Florida with winds in excess of 145 mph and flooded the area with an estimated 10-foot above sea-level storm surge.
President Bush declared 25 counties affected by Hurricane Charley federal disaster areas a day after the storm passed. The hurricane killed 23 people and more than 1.5 million Florida residents were left without power.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said 77,000 families in Florida have registered for disaster relief.
Trevor Hipp, an electrical engineering major from Yuma, was working at one of Disney World's resorts in Orlando during the storm.
"We were away from where it hit hardest," said Hipp, who was attending the Walt Disney World College Program Internship. "But I had friends that lost their roofs and had major damage to their homes."
Disney had to shut down the Magic Kingdom for the first time since Hurricane Floyd threatened the state in 1999. The park escaped major damage, but Hipp said the hurricane blew down a backdrop for the Lilo and Stitch attraction.
An estimated $7.4 billion worth of damage has been attributed to Charley in Florida, but time will tell how students from the state will weather the storm's effects as they study at ASU.
Mistalene Calleroz, an associate director for ASU Residential Life said that it is natural for Floridian students to be affected but she hopes they can overcome this tragedy.
"Our staff are equipped to deal with extenuating circumstances," she said, "and are directed to refer students to Counseling and Consultation."
As of yet, no students have notified Student Life or the Administration to make special arrangements because of the hurricane.
"It's really kind of crazy to think so much destruction can come from a storm," said Frus. "It's done for now but I keep a close eye for Florida in the news."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach the reporter at mark.saxon@asu.edu.
