After Hurricane Georges cut through the Caribbean in late September, Central Florida witnessed an outporing of emotion and giving. Orlando-area cultural and religious groups began donation drives to help hurricane victims. Radio Stations have held on-air marathons, and small businesses have volunteered as donation drop-off sites.

The Hurricane killed at least 249 in the Dominican Republic, where 100,000 are homeless and damage is calculated at $1.2 billion. In Puerto Rico, four people died as a result of Georges.

Florida's damage estimate for Hurricane Georges reached $400 million Friday, October 2nd, and officials say it will climb as record floodwaters recede from rivers in the Panhandle.

Georges inflicted about $250 million worth of destruction when it lashed the Florida Keys on Sep 25. The damage figure is $150 million and counting from wind, storm surge and flooding in the Panhandle, where Georges dumped about 25 inches of rain from Saturday through Tuesday.

Most of the rivers in the western part of the Panhandle have crested, and east toward the Tallahassee area the river was expected to crest last week. Hundreds were forced to evacuate from along the Perdido, Escambia, Yellow, Shoal, Choctawhatchee and Chipola Rivers.

A spokesman from the state Emergency Management Division in Tallahassee gave these preliminary numbers:

Number of homes statewide with damage: 2,942