ST. MARKS - Frances finally departed storm-weary Florida on Monday, after blotting out Labor Day weekend from Palm Beach to Tallahassee.
Once a powerful hurricane, Tropical Storm Frances crossed the Panhandle and meandered into Georgia and Alabama as millions of residents and visitors cleaned up along its massive, three-day path.
Frances was so wet, so broad and so ponderous it knocked out power in 53 of Florida's 67 counties. On Monday night, 2.9-million customers still lacked electricity in the Sunshine State.
Forty-seven counties had some level of evacuation, the largest in Florida history. The stream of evacuees clogged roads. Flooding and dwindling gasoline supplies added to the aggravation. Cars lined up for five miles on Florida's Turnpike when people discovered a service center with gas to sell.
"It's so damn depressing," said Arcadia resident Bob Sidorski, 61, who had his roof ripped off by Charley, got soaked by Frances and now is keeping a watchful eye on Hurricane Ivan in the Atlantic.
"If I had enough money to move to South Dakota, I would. Nothing happens up there, just eight months of cold weather."
State and federal officials continued the familiar drill of news conferences to make pronouncements, provide statistics and offer reassurances.
The death toll rose to three, adding a death in Lee County to two in Alachua previously announced. Not included: the former son-in-law and 15-year-old grandson of Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden, who died Sunday night when their car hit a utility truck coming from Texas.
President Bush announced he would seek emergency funding from Congress to aid Frances victims in addition to the $2-billion he requested after Hurricane Charley. Bush also announced he would visit Florida on Wednesday to survey damage and check on federal relief efforts.
Preliminary damage estimates to insured property ranged from $2-billion to $10-billion, compared to Hurricane Charley's final tally of $7.4-billion.
Most of the state was expected to remain in a flood watch through today, from Lake Okeechobee to North Central Florida, said state meteorologist Ben Nelson. Rainfall topped 13 inches in some areas north and east of Frances' path.
Curfews remained in effect for 20 counties as officials reported scattered looting.
The National Weather Service reported that the center of Frances made landfall about 2 p.m. Monday at St. Marks, 20 miles south of Tallahassee, with sustained tropical storm winds of 65 mph.
But that was news to people on the scene.
Neil Lockhart, 47, who lives in a mobile home on Shell Point, stood outside at 2:30 p.m and watched a relatively calm drizzle.
"A lot of the people who bug out of here aren't from here," said Lockhart, who declined to evacuate, just as he did when Tropical Storm Bonnie threatened the Panhandle last month. "I'm not going to stand face to face with a (Category) 5, but I know when to take it seriously."
Across the Panhandle, residents sighed in relief and began returning to their homes Monday afternoon - hours and even days before they expected to.
"Already we're starting to remove the roadblocks," said Maj. Maurice Langston, Wakulla County's emergency management director.
Residents in Florida's midsection suffered the double indignity of Charley's power, followed by Frances' persistence.
Bartow's Danny Tuck covered his roof with blue tarps after Charley punched four holes in his 80-year-old wooden home. Frances blew away the tarp.
"Charley blew the shingles off like they were light as paper," Tuck said, hammer in hand. "Now we don't have power. We don't have water from the pump, and I have two more leaks in my roof. Thanks Frances. Come back any time."
In Orlando, Gov. Jeb Bush said Florida's agriculture sector has taken another big hit, this time including the Indian River grapefruit industry. Bush declared a state of emergency throughout Florida.
At least 8,000 National Guard troops have been deployed. And FEMA, the federal disaster agency, set up staging areas in Jacksonville and Homestead to provide mass care to storm victims. Basic necessities - food, water and ice - will be distributed through four regional state centers, in West Palm Beach, Orlando, Lakeland and Tallahassee.
During a tour of hurricane damage, Bush and his convoy were forced to abandon plans to survey the damage by helicopter Monday because of more foul weather. As they drove up the coast, the physical damage became worse the farther north they went, but the governor was not willing to claim one area was suffering more than another.
"It'd be like saying you love one of your children more than another," he said. "There's really no need to compare. We have a duty to provide relief."
Daytona Beach, still recovering from Charley, lost a landmark to Frances - a sign proclaiming, "The World's Most Famous Beach."
Damage was greatest on the east coast, where Frances came ashore Saturday night with sustained winds of 105 mph. Officials set up five emergency distribution sites in Palm Beach County to hand out food, water and ice.
"Assistance is on the way," said Emergency Operations Center spokesman Vince Bonvento, who bathed in his pool Sunday night.
The highest wind gust - 124 mph - was recorded 90 miles to the north at Port Canaveral. Nearby, the Kennedy Space Center suffered its worst hurricane damage ever. About 1,000 panels were blown off the Vehicle Assembly Building, exposing about 40,000 square feet on two sides of the huge building. Center director James Kennedy said he feared the damage could set back NASA's effort to resume shuttle launches next spring.
West Palm Beach resident Andy Wallace was heading north with his wife and their 2-year-old son Cameron. They had planned a camping trip to Disney World, starting Saturday. Instead, they boarded up their home and rode out the storm. A couple of days without electricity and water was enough camping.
They're still going to Disney World, but they're staying in a hotel.
"I want a shower," Wallace said.
Even Jerry Lewis got whacked by Frances, blaming the storm for keeping him from beating last year's total in his annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon. "To the people in Florida, you have our heartfelt prayers for your well-being," said Lewis, whose telethon usually raises millions in Florida.
Times staff writers Chase Squires, Joni James, Jeff Harrington, Bill Adair, Steve Bousquet, Brady Dennis, Matt Waite and Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler contributed to this report, which used information from the Associated Press.
