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Here is the latest news on Hurricane Charley.
All area evacuations lifted
Pinellas, Hillsborough, Hernando, Manatee, Pasco and Citrus residents are free to return home, emergency management officials have announced. A curfew order announced earlier in Pinellas also has been lifted.
All weather advisories likewise have been lifted.
Tampa International Airport hoped to resume operations by Saturday morning. Travelers are urged to contact airlines for specific flight information before arriving at the airport.
Charley tilts east
PUNTA GORDA -- Hurricane Charley slammed Sanibel Island near Fort Myers at 3:45 p.m. with winds of 145 mph.Almost 2-million people were urged to evacuate in advance of the storm, which rapidly gained strength in the Gulf of Mexico after swinging around the Florida Keys as a more moderate Category 2 storm Friday morning.
Power back on for most customers
Progress Energy Florida has restored power to Pinellas County beach towns after restarting two power plants that had been shut down earlier today and yesterday as a precaution to protect against rising water. The utility cited the sudden eastward shift of Hurricane Charley for the power restoration. For the same reason, Tampa Electric Co. believes there is now less risk that it will have to shut off power to the low-lying areas of Harbour Island, Davis Islands and the downtown Tampa business district. Power remains off in a few buildings in downtown Tampa.Water outage in Hillsborough
Water was cut off today to about 200,000 people in Hillsborough County, the result of a sudden surge in water consumption in southern Hillsborough. "We're showing a huge loss of water and we just don't believe there's that much water being used," said Rhonda Walker, general manager of the Hillsborough County Water Department. Water customers were affected in Town 'N Country, Northwest Hillsborough, Riverview, Ruskin and Gibsonton.
Hillsborough shelter news
More than 6,000 people are staying in Hillsborough County emergency shelters, officials said. Four shelters are at capacity: Sickles High School in Tampa, Shields Middle School in Tampa, Tomlin Middle School in Plant City and Middleton High School in Tampa.