Hardware stores that sent supplies to areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita restocked their shelves for anxious Floridians waiting to see if Hurricane Wilma would turn toward the peninsula, which forecasters said could happen by the weekend.

TROPICAL Storm Wilma strengthened into a hurricane yesterday on a path that could threaten storm-battered Florida, tying the record for the most hurricanes to form in an Atlantic season.

ALL eyes will be on Florida next month when America goes to the polls.

All eyes will be on Florida next month when America goes to the polls.

Driven from splintered trailers, roofless condominiums and powerless suburban homes, Hurricane Charley’s hungry victims sweated through long lines to find food, showers and drinking water three days after the storm left their lives in shambles.

Rescue teams, insurance adjusters and US National Guard troops scattered across Florida today to help victims of Hurricane Charley and deliver water and other supplies to thousands of people left homeless.

Residents left homeless by Hurricane Charley’s 145 mph winds dug through their ravaged homes, sweeping up shattered glass and rescuing what they could as US President George Bush promised rapid delivery of disaster aid.

This column has been written in text, on a mobile phone in a room lit only by a candle. The temperature is 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

AS the remnants of Hurricane Charley disintegrated off the New England coast yesterday, Florida residents began the massive task of cleaning up.

The US presidential helicopter flew low over destroyed homes, downed power lines and uprooted trees today,as George W. Bush and his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush got a bird’s eye view of the destruction caused by Hurricane Charley.

Hurricane Charley left a trail of destruction in Florida, where officials today reported a “significant loss of life”, as the slightly weakened storm barrelled on toward the South Carolina coast.

Hurricane Charley struck west-central Florida with a mix of wind and water, ravaging oceanfront homes and trailer parks, tearing apart small planes and inundating the coast before moving inland to assault Orlando and Daytona Beach.

Florida police evacuated a public library and arrested a Briton who was using a computer to look at bomb-making Websites after officials said they found suspicious liquids in his backpack.

Three Tunisians attending flight schools in Florida, including a student who acknowledged knowing a flatmate of terrorist hijacker Mohamed Atta, were ordered deported yesterday.