Hurricane Charley is getting the Disney treatment.
A new exhibit opening in late August at Disney's Epcot Innoventions pavilion
will put visitors in the eye of the storm's lashing Category 4 winds using 3-D technology and surround sound.
Disney officials talked
about "StormStruck: The Tale of Two Homes," during the Governor's Hurricane Conference on Friday.
Presenters said that visitors would
be shown how fortifying a home against a storm can change the outcome for the home. Two examples of homes will be used, one that survived
Charley, and another that didn't.
Designers hope the attraction will motivate residents to construct their homes like Chris Webb, whose
home on Gulfview Road in Punta Gorda was virtually unscathed. Neighbor Jim Minardi's house, however, was a "total loss," the retired
college administrator said.
The difference-maker was how the houses' roofs, walls and floors were tied together.
The exhibit is being
sponsored for three years by the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, a nonprofit organization that promotes disaster safety and practices
that create homes better suited to withstand disasters.
Charley struck in August 2004 and caused nearly $7 billion
in property damage in Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.