NewsLocal News

Actions

Back into the Eye: 20 years after Hurricane Charley

A harrowing account from the reporter in the eye of Charley
Winds from Hurricane Charley ripping the roof off a Holiday Inn at Punta Gorda Florida Aug. 13, 2004.
Posted
and last updated

TAMPA, Fla. — On Aug. 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley had Tampa Bay in a bullseye. A major shift to the right put former ABC Action News reporter Don Germaise and photographer Tim Jones, where they never expected to be in the eye of the storm.

Charley made landfall as a major category-four hurricane with winds at 150mph near Cayo Costa, just west of Fort Myers.

Charley archive video 2004

Germaise became well-known as "hunker down" Don for his coverage of Charley. It was also the beginning of Denis Phillips' signature look: his suspenders.

Looking back on twenty years, many viewers may not know that chasing hurricanes was not Germaise's favorite part of the job, and through all the coverage, they got lucky "dodging a lot of bullets."

Don dodged bullets

For most of the forecast, this was "Tampa's storm," according to Phillips.

Tampa Hurricane Charley forecast

Then, about six hours before landfall, Phillips made the call on live TV; Charley was making a significant turn to the East.

Hurricane Charley path change

All of the live trucks at the Holiday Inn in Punta Gorda were damaged, except for the ABC Action News satellite truck, which allowed Germaise and his team to report the first live shots and images of the destruction.

Holiday Inn damage from Charley

Although the technology to predict storms is better, Phillips said there are no guarantees on where a storm might make landfall.

Denis Phillips explains the shift

Germaise said once Phillips told him the storm was coming for him, they "stopped covering the storm, and we went door to door knocking on the hotel room doors to tell people they have to evacuate. They have to get out of there. And a lot of people said, well, 'Where are we going to go?' I suggest 'start driving inland because you're not going to want to be here.' About an hour after we did that, the sheriff's office came up and started knocking on doors. But we got people out of here an hour early just by doing that. They listened, and we saved some lives that day."

Why cover hurricanes?

Florida Fish and Wildlife officers joined neighbors helping to rescue people living in the Pemberton Creek area on Friday, as flood waters continued to rise.

Flooding in Pemberton Creek following Hurricane Milton