WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Hurricane Frances left few parts of Florida untouched yesterday as its slow, cruel crawl across the peninsula left behind flooded roadways, downed power lines, uprooted trees and debris-strewn beaches. As many as 5 million people lost power, and the state's panhandle region braced to take its hit from the storm today.
After pummeling parts of Florida's eastern coastline with rain for as long as 30 hours, the storm weakened as it crept west, with winds slowing to about 70 mph. By early evening, Frances was downgraded to a tropical storm as it approached Tampa en route to the Gulf of Mexico.
The storm was expected to strengthen over the gulf, and forecasters said it could regain hurricane strength before hitting land again - probably near St. George Island, a narrow barrier island guarding the mainland city of Apalachicola.
In spite of the relentless battering of wind and water that began early Saturday, Florida appeared to have been spared the level of destruction caused three weeks ago by Hurricane Charley, which killed 27 people and caused losses covered by insurance estimated at $7 billion.
Unlike Charley, a Category 4 storm with winds as high as 145 mph, Frances was a Category 2, with winds of 105 mph when its eye came ashore about 1 a.m. near Sewalls Point, north of Palm Beach.
Gov. Jeb Bush said residents did not ignore the lessons of the earlier storm. About 2.8 million people moved inland, the largest evacuation in state history. More than 100,000 people went to shelters, and most stayed put, as Hurricane Frances lumbered slowly to shore.
"Hurricane amnesia - we don't have that problem anymore," Bush said.
Two storm-related deaths were reported in Florida in addition to two earlier deaths when Hurricane Frances passed over the Bahamas.
Authorities said one man was killed when his car hit a tree near Gainesville. In Boca Raton, a man was killed and a woman was taken to an area hospital after a sport utility vehicle overturned on the Florida Turnpike, police said.
Residents emerge
Yesterday, officials warned people to stay indoors for another day, but many began venturing out to inspect the damage up and down Florida's Atlantic coastline.
All gas stations and most shopping centers were closed, with the exception of a few convenience stores that opened despite the widespread power outages.
Stores that did open their doors were easily spotted by the lines of customers snaking around the block.
