Miami -- At 6:30
a.m. Oct. 24, Hurricane Wilma made landfall in Cape Romana, Fla.,
near Marco Island, as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds near
125 mph.
The storm quickly
sped across the state, dropping down to a Category 2 storm and
moved out to the Atlantic Ocean on Monday afternoon, leaving severe
damage and millions without power in its wake. Throughout Florida,
six deaths were attributed to the passing of Wilma; in Mexico, four
deaths have been attributed to the storm.
After heading back
out to sea, Wilma re-energized and was back up to a Category 3
storm Monday night with wind speeds reaching 125 mph; as of the
latest advisory, it was located about 260 miles south-southeast of
Cape Hatteras, N.C. Wilma is projected to meet up with the remnants
of Alpha, the historic 22nd named storm of the season, at some
point in the week in the mid-Atlantic and spread rain and high surf
along the eastern seaboard.
Damage
assessments
Broward County
officials reported wind gusts up to 120 mph in Pompano Beach,
thousands of windows blown out and standing water in the
streets.
The Monroe County
Sheriff's Office blocked U.S. Highway 1 to prohibit entry to the
Florida Keys until the Overseas Highway is cleared of debris,
which, along with floodwaters, is blocking passage at some parts of
the highway.
Although Hurricane
Wilma passed north of the Keys, officials reported significant
damage to the infrastructure. The islands suffered widespread power
outages. Key West International Airport reported that its main
runway is underwater and a few inches of water cover the terminal
floor. According to TV reports, the main street in Key West was
under several feet of water as well.
To contact
reporters David Cogswell or TravelWeekly.coms managing editor
Kimberly Scholz, send e-mail to [email protected][email protected].