FORT MYERS, Aug 14: Hurricane Charley left a trail of devastation in Florida on Saturday, with authorities fearing a significant number of dead in a coastal town that bore the full brunt of its force.

The emergency manager for the town of Punta Gorda, Wayne Sallade, said he had ordered 60 body bags and two refrigeration trucks to handle bodies at a mobile home park that was being guarded.

Florida authorities were unable to give a firm toll, but the hurricane destroyed thousands of homes, left one million without power, blocked roads and tore through airports, flipping over planes.

Three were confirmed dead from isolated accidents in the state, where the hurricane hit late on Friday, in addition to the four dead in Cuba, which was in Charley's path earlier in the day.

After roaring across Florida, the hurricane went out into the Atlantic Ocean before returning to hit South Carolina.

Inhabitants of Punta Gorda, about 32kms north of the Gulf Coast city of Fort Myers, were taken by surprise when the storm veered farther south than expected.

Many chose to stay in their flimsy wooden homes in about 30 trailer parks around Punta Gorda, which stood no chance against the fierce winds.

The town's emergency manager did not give an estimate for the number of dead but told reporters he feared it would be "significant." Sallade was in tears as he told how had to order the body bags, CNN television reported.

National guardsmen and sheriffs' deputies were guarding the site, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had taken control of medical care in the town after its hospital shut down, the network said.

"Punta Gorda appears to be ground zero," said Craig Fugate, the state's director of emergency management. But there was extensive damage in the wake of Charley, which packed winds of 235kms per hour as it crossed Florida, heading from Punta Gorda through Orlando and then Daytona Beach, on the Atlantic coast. One Punta Gorda hospital recorded a gust of 276kms an hour before its wind meter was torn down.

All three hospitals and half of the fire stations in Punta Gorda were out of operation because of damage and the lack of power.

The Florida Power and Light electric company said 1.3 million people were without power and the number was expected to rise as people return to their homes.

Roads were blocked with palm trees, power and telephone poles and vehicles, including heavy trucks, which were turned over by the winds.

"Right now, it's mass damage," said Kimberly Casale, a city administrator in Arcadia, just inland from Punta Gorda. The hurricane ripped the roof off the civic center being used as an emergency shelter for 1,500 people.

No one was injured, Casale said, but rescuers struggled to reach critically injured people elsewhere.

At the local Charlotte County airport, about 25 small planes were blown over. An airport in Lake Wales near Tampa, farther up the coast, suffered similar damage. Planes at Orlando International Airport, which is farther inland, were also flipped over like toys.

Officials urged about 1.4 million people to flee ahead of the storm. But the mandatory evacuation order was widely ignored.

Connie Larsson, whose mobile home in Punta Gorda was wrecked, told the local WTVT television: "I had planned to stay here, but the manager of the park said it was not a good idea. I stayed with friends from church, but they have taken a lot of damage."

Many who did flee Tampa and communities on Florida's Gulf Coast found that the storm deviated from its expected path and hit the cities where they had taken refuge - such as Orlando and Daytona Beach.

Forecasters warned of drenching rains, potential flash floods and tornadoes as the storm headed up the eastern seaboard.

President George W. Bush ordered a state of emergency in Florida so special aid could be given. "We ask God's blessing on those who were in the path of that hurricane," he said.

Charley is Florida's worst natural disaster since Hurricane Andrew ripped through the southern part of the state in 1992, killing more than a dozen people.

Earlier, Hurricane Charley battered Cuba for more than two hours, tearing roofs off houses, ripping up trees and cutting power. Four men died, civilian defence officials said. One drowned, one was killed by a falling tree and two were killed when buildings collapsed. -AFP