On Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:21:21 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

"Many towns such as Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte were leveled by the
hurricane."

There *was* a heck of a lot of damage in Punta Gorda, including a fair
number of flattened buildings. I was there last weekend and every
other block in downtown is a parking lot where buildings once stood.
Many lost their roof and sustained so much water damage that they had
to be torn down.