Emergency crews launched airboats into submerged streets to rescue central Florida residents trapped by rising floodwaters from a stalled Tropical Storm Fay, which soaked the state for a third consecutive day.

Governor Jeb Bush has called in the Florida National Guard to help fight wildfires that have scorched thousands of acres and blanketed highways with thick smoke, contributing to collisions that have killed four people.

Nearly half a million people were ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Frances swirled toward Florida today just three weeks after Charley’s devastating visit, threatening to deliver the most powerful double punch to hit a state in at least a century.