Hurricane Charley blamed for 25th Florida death
More than 240,000 still have no power
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 A woman finds photos of her husband in the rubble of her home.
 Floridians work to put their lives back together after Hurricane Charley.
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| VICTIM AID | Those wishing to assist hurricane victims are encouraged to give cash donations. These organizations are recommended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency: American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund - (800) HELP-NOW; victims and family can call (866) GET-INFO Catholic Charities, USA - (800) 919-9338 Salvation Army - (800) SAL-ARMY United Methodist Committee on Relief - (800) 554-8583 Online: FEMA
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(CNN) -- Eight days after Hurricane Charley cut its destructive path across southern and central Florida, the death toll rose to 25 and about 241,000 residents were still without power, emergency management officials said.
The latest reported fatality was a 68-year-old Lee County man who died in his trailer Thursday from carbon monoxide poisoning, according to Florida's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Officials blamed his poisoning on storm damage to the trailer.
Friday, a 37-year-old Collier County man died from head injuries, officials said.
The American Red Cross has sent outreach teams into areas hit hardest by the hurricane, spokeswoman Tiffany Fell told CNN on Saturday.
"We can provide [people] with their immediate emergency needs," she said. "We want to make sure people have a warm meal to eat, that they have a place to spend the night and that they are out of the heat."
She also said more than 1,000 volunteers were getting up before dawn and working late at meal centers, sometimes until 11 p.m.
The damage after the storm swept across the state August 13 was severe -- $7.4 billion in insured properties alone, according to the Insurance Information Institute -- and state agriculture officials put the loss to Florida's citrus crop at $150 million.
Punta Gorda, in Charlotte County, was one of the hardest-hit areas. A preliminary estimate found that the storm caused $500 million in damage to public buildings in the county, officials said.
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry was in Florida on Friday to visit storm-ravaged areas, including Punta Gorda.
He spent most of his time talking to residents and did not give any speeches, The Associated Press reported.
"How upset they are is really very, very moving, and the way people have come together says the best about America," Kerry told the AP during a stop in Cleveland, Florida. "It makes it personal. I think it's important to make it personal." (Full story)
President Bush traveled to Florida two days after the storm for an aerial tour of the area.
Round the clock effort
Power companies continued to work around the clock to restore power to 241,174 people living without air conditioning in the brutal heat.
That is down from a peak of more than 2 million who lost power after the storm.
The Florida State EOC said all of its customers should have electricity restored in less than a week.
Progress Energy, which serves 1.5 million people primarily in central and coastal Florida, said most of its customers had electricity.
"We have restored 97 percent of our customers," Progress Energy spokesman Aaron Perlut said.
Florida Power and Light was still working on outages. In Sarasota County alone, which is just north of Port Charlotte, as many as 134,784 people remained without power at 7 a.m. Saturday, according to Florida Power and Light spokesman Alex Suarez.
Scam artist warning
As residents look for help rebuilding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is warning them to watch out for scams.
"Unfortunately every disaster brings out those that want to prey on the victims," FEMA spokesman Kenneth Burris said.
Scam artists may seek out personal information that FEMA representatives would not ask for in person, such as Social Security numbers or checking account routing numbers, he said.
So far, FEMA has registered more than 100,000 residents who need assistance and has offered help to 14,000 of them.
He said about half of the people seeking help in hard-hit Punta Gorda did not have insurance to cover their losses.
Burris said the main priority has been to get residents out of shelters and into temporary housing.
CNN's Sara Dorsey contributed to this report.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
