The head of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency said Monday it may take weeks of searching through debris in Florida to find all the victims of Hurricane Charley.

"We literally have thousands of people without homes who have spread out all over Florida,” said FEMA Director Michael Brown.

Hurricane Charley killed at least 17 people in Florida and caused $11 billion in damages to insured homes alone. At least one million residents were without power Monday.

The latest death was attributed to a car accident early Monday morning in Osceola County south of Orlando.

But as deadly and destructive as Charley was, it could have been worse.

“Charlotte County went through a 145 mph category 4 hurricane and saw a miracle," said Wayne Sallade, Charlotte County’s director of emergency management.

Officials have said hundreds of people were unaccounted for but still
had no official count on Monday.

The search for missing people was slow in some areas because downed power lines and debris was making the search dangerous.

Officials said the number of missing is also inflated
because of erroneous reports made by worried relatives and friends.

The hardest-hit areas appeared to be the retirement community of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte in Charlotte County, though federal officials expanded the disaster aid zone to 25 counties on Sunday.

Officials in Charlotte County said Monday that 70,000 homes and
businesses were without power.

Hundreds of volunteers are pitching it to try to help the victims of the hurricane.

"We're seeing the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and other
humanitarian efforts out on the streets, they're here, they're working,
they're doing the best they can; we're doing the best we can through
what we have available to get the word out to them,” Sallade said.

The Salvation Army has rushed dozens of
mobile feeding units into Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and other
Florida communities devastated by Hurricane Charley.

"We do this out of a love for Jesus Christ," who exhorted believers to help the poor and afflicted, said Salvation Army spokesman Steve Dick.

He said many survivors feel like they've lost everything, and need someone to come alongside them and offer hope and a hot meal.

Dick says donations may be made through the Salvation Army's Web
site Click Here and prayers are needed for both storm victims and relief workers.

Texas electric utility companies have sent hundred of electric
transmission line repair crew members to help Floridians get back
on their feet amid devastation by Hurricane Charley.

Alicia Dixon of CenterPoint Energy says the Houston utility has
sent 130 electrical linemen to the Fort Myers area. And
Southwestern Electric Power Company in Northeast Texas says it has
51 workers in the Tampa Bay area to help restore power.

Meanwhile, authorities trying to minimize looting have enacted a
curfew in some of the hardest hit areas. Deputies and National
Guardsmen are patrolling, and some property owners are staying in
damaged buildings to protect their valuables.