CBN News reporter Gary Lane is in Sanford, Florida,

and he joins us now.

Gary the storm has done its work,

now we're seeing the results.

Tell us about the kind of damage that you're seeing in Sanford.

I understand that's north of Orlando.

Well, yes, it is Mark.

The damage here isn't as extensive

as it is in other parts of Florida.

The worst parts of Florida, of course,

would be Naples and that area of Fort Myers,

but also we've heard that in Jacksonville there's

a lot of flooding and storm surge there.

They didn't expect that.

The St. John's River overflowing its banks now.

Here in Sanford, we've been driving around just looking

at some of the neighborhoods.

A lot of downed trees, a lot of downed limbs,

but as you can see right behind me,

this is a downed tree that downed a power line.

And that's the main problem for people

here in Florida at this time.

Throughout the state, seven million people

still without power--

as many as seven million.

And there are power crews from other states,

across the country, that have come in

to volunteer their help, but I'm still

told it will take a million man hours to get all the power back

up.

So it's slowly coming back and people are

returning to their homes now.

I think some that were entrenched in hotels

are basically saying, look, if we're out

of power in the hotel, we may as well

go home now that the curfew has been lifted

and sit in the dark in our own homes.

So that's the situation right now in this area, Mark.

Well, your area was spared a direct hit

when this storm shifted.

So even in the destruction, something

to be thankful for, right?

Yeah, and I think, Mark, that one big difference here,

a lot of Christians around the country, not just in Florida,

but around the country and around the world, believe it

or not, because of social media, they knew about it,

were praying.

And prayer did make a difference,

because this could have been much, much worse.

Believe me, it was a category 5 as it

swept across the Caribbean.

And then 4 as it moved ashore in the keys--

the Florida Keys.

And so by the time it got up this way, where we are,

it was probably down to about a 1.

Now it's just a tropical storm, but still heavy rains, winds,

storm surge, spin-off tornadoes--

that's the concern right now for people in northern Florida,

Georgia, parts of Alabama, and as this tracks up

into Tennessee.

Have you talked to any of the residents there?

What are they saying, Gary?

Well, I just talked to one man who

walked by as we were getting ready for this, to talk to you.

And he told me that a big tree crashed

through the roof of his home last night,

right into the living room.

And not much he could do about it.

He's without power in his home, as are much of his neighbors.

And he's waiting to see when the insurance company will

come by and take a look at it.

Right now he told me he's got some tarps on the roof.

But he said, look, I'm not the only one.

I said, well, at least you're still alive.

You're safe.

And he said, yes, that is a blessing.

So a lot of people in the same situation.

You've been following CBN's Operation Blessing

as they seek to help people and evaluate the situation.

What's been the response to their work?

Well, I think the response has been great.

We talked to the principal of a high school

yesterday where 1,100 people are being sheltered.

I'm sure some of them are returning home now,

but a lot of them were locals, because they just

wanted to get out of their homes and go to a safe place.

And this shelter had as many as 400 dogs.

They had things like raccoons.

People even brought their fish.

It was a pet-friendly shelter.

They put the pets in cages in another building.

But the people that we talked to,

they were very grateful for the cookies and the snacks,

the potato chips, the water, and also the power drinks

that Operation Blessing provided.

And let me just say this--

it wasn't that oh Operation Blessing's just

providing snacks.

It's, we asked them what they wanted.

OB didn't come in and just say, this

is what we're going to give you.

They said to the people, what would you like?

And they say, look, they're feeding us three times a day

here, but at nighttime we really could use

some snacks, some comfort food.

And they sure were glad to have that, Mark.

Gary, how would you encourage others to pray

for the victims of this storm?

Well, you know there are a lot of people here.

Sure, a lot of Floridians know the Lord.

There are a lot that don't.

And they were very frightened as this hurricane came through.

And I can tell you last night in our hotel here in Orlando--

I can't imagine what it was in South Florida,

in Naples, in that area, when a 4 came ashore--

but in our hotel room last night,

hurricane category 1, the wind was howling.

And also just a constant rush of wind.

And it can become very frightening, because it's like,

is this going to crash through into my room?

Is my roof of my house going to blow off?

Is a tree going to come on the roof of my house?

And as I mentioned earlier, a lot of trees

did fall on houses.

So it can be very scary if you don't know the Lord,

you're in tough shape, aren't you?

You can become very frightened.

When you do know the Lord, you know that he is with you.

He will never leave you nor forsake you.

He will always be there to protect you no matter what.

And that assurance, I think, gives you peace.

So you can weather this storm, no matter what

it may be-- or hurricane, or difficulties in a marriage,

whatever you're facing.

So I think that's the key difference.

So people to pray now at this point, a lot of flooding up

in Jacksonville, hard rain still falling

and winds in northern Florida into Georgia, Alabama.

Pray for God's protection there.

Pray that people, through this experience,

will come to know him as their Lord and savior.

Amen, amen to that, Gary.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for your time.

Stay safe down there to you and your crew.

OK, Mark, we're going to be with OB tomorrow again.

So we'll have more reports for you in the future.

Be watching live on Facebook and also at cbnnews.com.

All right, thank you, Gary.