The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 7

TBO.com THETAMPA TRIBUNE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2004 NATIONWORLD AFTER HURRICANE IVAN 4 sssjS Irms i J- u5 tfvd A IGER Neighbors walk down Gulf Beach Highway west of Pensacola trying to get to Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBAI their homes, many of which were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. Searchers were looking for 34 people reported missing. w' -Vf Tribune photo by KATHY MOORE LENGELL Ivan washed out portions of U.S. 98 on Okaloosa Island between Destin and Fort Walton Beach, which was closed to traffic in both directions. The nearby Gulfarium said all its animals were accounted for except nine sharks.

nnrttf.rim r2 hin. ASSESSING DAMAGE Continued From Page 1 across a broad swath of the Southeast. Gulf Power, the major electrical utility in the Panhandle, said 790 miles of transmission lines were damaged. About 430,000 homes and businesses in Northwest Florida were off the power grid early Friday, state offi-cialssaid. "The power issue is going to be a bigger issue than in Charley or Frances," Bush said.

The governor's brother, President Bush, was expected to make his third hurricane-related trip to Florida on Sunday to view damage. Meanwhile, Ivan's turbulent remnants pounded states from Georgia to Ohio, washing out homes, sweeping cars down roadways and killing at least 12. In Pensacola, the University of West Florida will be closed to its 9,500 students until further notice after Ivan blew the roof off its field house, severely damaged its electrical system and downed about 2,000 campus trees. ''Our swimming pool used to be an indoor pool," said spokesman Pat Crawford. "Now it's an outdoor pool." Naval Station Takes Hit Among military installations that crowd Florida's Panhandle, the historic Pensacola Naval Air Station was hit hardest, sustaining hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, according to Navy spokesman Lt.

John Scho-field. "They have power lines down everywhere, and there is no water or sewage capability," Schofield said. "We're characterizing it as catastrophic. Every single building on that base has been damaged to some degree, a majority of them significantly." the storm-damaged Pensacola Civic Center, Gov. Bush fended off complaints from displaced residents about lengthy recovery times, no showers and scarce generators.

"You can get information about world events, but you can't get information about something that's happening two blocks down the street," resident Kathy Joblonski said, confronting the governor. Others complained he showed up empty-handed. The governor said Florida Panhandle residents would be without power and water for so long that they needed more than bottled water to get by. "We're going to have to bring in tankers for water," Bush said. Air conditioning is not just a luxury for some people, he pointed out.

"Living without air conditioning, it's not just an inconvenience, that's a health issue for a lot of people," the governor said. Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jose Abreu said the damaged westbound 1-10 bridge over Escambia Bay will be patched with parts of the collapsed eastbound span. A temporary bridge will handle eastbound traffic. Rebuilding could take up to 18 months and cost $100 million to $200 million. Regulations adopted since its construction mean a new span will be built higher above the water.

Pensacola's historic old city suffered massive property losses. "Pensacola may never be the same," said Sheriff Ron McNesby, who assessed damage as three times worse than Hurricane Opal in 1 995. FLORIDA DEATHS Escambia County: 7 Escambia Sheriff Ron McNesby confirmed seven deaths. Sheriffs Sgt. Rick Vinson said four of the deaths were from natural causes but were being attributed to storm-related factors.

He did not have additional details. Vinson said drowning was suspected in two deaths in southwest Escambia neigh- borhoods near the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Escambia County spokeswoman Kelly Cooke said officials could not immediately release information on the deaths. Calhoun County: 4 James Marshall, 41, and wife, Mary Marshall, 37, were killed when a tornado ripped through their home in Blountstown. The couple worked at Calhoun Correctional Institution, a state prison.

James Marshall supervised prison officers in the low-security work camp adjoining the higher-security prison, and Mary Marshall was in charge of officers in the main prison. Both were due to report for work about 90 minutes before the tornado struck. James Melvin Terry, 55, and his daughter. Donna Faye Terry Reed, 35, also were killed in the tornado that swept through the Blountstown area Tamarah Rasmussen, a dispatcher with Calhoun County Sheriff's Office, said Terry's body was found in the rubble of the family's mobile home and taken to Calhoun Liberty Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Reed was found dead on the scene.

Another family member, whose name was not released, was hospitalized in critical condition. Rasmussen said they were with other family members trying to ride out the storm. Bay County: 2 Nancy King, 77, was killed when a tornado demolished her three-bedroom home Wednesday across East Bay from Tyndall Air Force Base northeast of Panama City. John Martin, 84, was killed in Panama City Beach while he was checking his daughter's real estate business with his son. Martin's son ducked into another room when the tornado hit and was not injured, official's said.

Santa Rosa County: 2 Santa Rosa Emergency Director Dave Ling said an 8-year-old girl was killed early Thursday in Milton when a tree fell on a house. Ling said the girl was not with her family, and her identity had not been released. A Santa Rosa sheriffs spokesman did not immediately return a phone call Friday. Divers found a body Friday in the cab of a semitrailer stranded just ahead of a missing slab of an Interstate 10 bridge near Bagdad. Parts of the bridge collapsed into Escambia Bay as Hurricane Ivan tore through Florida's Panhandle.

Manatee County: 1 Joe Milke, 43, of Colorado, died Tuesday of a broken neck while riding a boogie board on the waves created by Hurricane Ivan in Longboat Key. Milke, a crew supervisor for a natural gas company, was vacationing with his wife from their home near Denver. The Sarasota County medical examiner's office said Milke's neck was broken in several places, and there was a bruise on his head. His death is being attributed to Ivan, the medical examiner's office said. Source: The Associated Press their tank.

I imagine they're somewhere in the Gulf having a good laugh about now." Reporters Richard Lardner, Garrett Therolfand Thomas W. Krause contributed to this report, which includes information from The Associated Press. Reporter Brad Smith can be reached at (813)259-7365. Although Friday was an otherwise perfect day for the beach, Pensacola residents found theirs missing. Ivan leveled dozens of homes and marinas many once thought safe.

Marie Vogt, 84, survived hurricanes Frederic and Opal but lost her house to mighty Ivan. A patch of grass and her mailbox were all that remained. "There's just no way to start over at my age," she said, sitting on a tree stump and wiping away tears. Jeri and Dick Rader's dream house in Grande Lagoon was a rubble pile of bricks and intricate Spanish tile floors. The routine possessions of days ago suddenly became precious treasures.

"Look, Dick, our Christmas plates," Jeri Rader shouted to her husband. "I guess this is part of living here. It's really a shame. It kinda spoils it." The waterfront community was virtually demolished. Trucks floated in swimming pools, homes were reduced to driftwood and concrete slabs.

Access to some sections of the neighborhood was restricted by deputies. Even residents weren't allowed in to see their homes. Thirty-four people still were reported missing from the neighborhood, residents said, and police were using dogs to search for bodies. Officials spent the day investigating why people stayed. What To Do Next Shocked, exhausted and clearly weathered, residents all over Pensacola dug out and wondered how to start over.

Some vowed to move out of Florida. Others said they would stay and rebuild. Many who toughed out Ivan said they would never do it again. In Destin, most damage occurred along the Gulf beaches. At James Lee Public Park, beach pavilions and boardwalks were destroyed and tossed into the adjacent parking lot and road.

In Fort Walton Beach, the Ramada Plaza Beach Resort on Okaloosa Island was among many properties hard hit by Ivan. Giant waves crashed into the building, bursting through doors and windows, leaving 3 feet of sand in rooms and hallways. The island remained off limits, with Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN Dauphin Island south of Mobile, Ala. hit hard. 'Thank God.

He heard our prayers. I kept praying, Save our property, save our property" MARIE HATTABAUGH After seeing her Pensacola home escape major damage waves crash against a pier. Part of the hotel's roof was ripped off. A section of a boardwalk crashed through a room's windows. "There is a lot of damage, but we are a lot luckier this time," Brielmayer said.

During Opal, all windows were blown out and sand was piled much higher. "If we're open in time for the Christmas parties, that will be good," he said. Another tourist stop on the island, the Gulfarium, suffered damage to its roof and exterior seating, but general manager Don Abrams said most of the animals survived. "All of our animals are alive and ac-counted for except for our nine sharks," he said. "It seems they escaped when the seas crashed into Streets are buried under tons of sand on The area of mostly vacation homes was Tribune photo by M.

SPOONEYBARGER the National Guard blocking bridges. Many homes suffered torn roofs and flood damage. A westbound lane of U.S. 98 along the island collapsed. Nicole Wagner, a spokeswoman for the Okaloosa County Sheriff Office, said it could be a month before traffic returns to normal.

Wagner said business owners and residents might be allowed back Sunday. Ramada General Manager Werner Brielmayer and some of his crew rode out Ivan in a third-floor room facing the ocean. "I wasn't really scared," he said. "I was more concerned for the other people. I'm an old man who isn't married anymore and my children were grown.

If it got me, it got me." Brielmayer said he watched 40-foot.