Floridians Return Home

Floridians returning home after Hurricane Floyd passed offshore found the storm left their coastal communities a little wind-blown and wet, but relatively unharmed.

Floyd skirted the state's eastern coast, bringing gusts of more than 75 mph, and up to four inches of rain.

The hurricane sent waves crashing over dunes as it whistled by on its way to wreak havoc on the Carolinas. About 50 oceanside homes were left waterlogged. Most people had fled Tuesday as the hurricane made its turn to the northwest.

Elsewhere, most damage was along the coastline and limited primarily to downed carports, overhangs, awnings, signs, gutters, power lines and trees.

The sea swallowed about 100 feet of the century-old Daytona Beach pier, exposing cement pilings, and sheared off the end of the Jacksonville Beach pier.

No deaths were blamed on Floyd in Florida, where 290,000 customers lost power.

Gov. Jeb Bush hopped a Florida National Guard helicopter to survey the situation in Jacksonville and then canceled plans for a Thursday visit to the coast after seeing no significant damage.

"My impression really is how fortunate we were as a state to have had Floyd brush by us but not really impact us," Bush said. "By and large, it was pretty remarkable how close we got to having serious, serious property damage and perhaps loss of life, and yet it looks as though we escaped quite well."