[OCT. 26, 2005]
HOPEWELL JUNCTION, N.Y. -- Hurricane Wilma raced
across southern Florida on Monday, leaving a trail of destruction in
her wake that extends from the Everglades and Miami northward to
Orlando.
Wilma came ashore south of Naples as a Category 3 storm, packing
winds of 125 mph. At least six deaths in the state are being blamed
on the storm. Nineteen people lost their lives in Mexico and
Caribbean as a result of Wilma last week.
The hardest hit area was
the northeastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula, including the resort
city of Cancun. An astonishing 65 inches of rain came down across
parts of the peninsula, which was also slammed with winds of
140-plus mph.
Thousands of tourists who could not get flights out before the
storm hit took refuge in shelters located in schools and civic
buildings. During the height of the storm, more than 1,000 tourists
were forced to flee from a storm shelter after strong winds peeled
away part of the roof.
In Florida, the storm lost little intensity as it moved across
the state, dropping more than 6 inches of rain in the Miami area in
less than 12 hours. More than 6 million customers were without power
across the state.
Late last week, Wilma became the strongest hurricane ever
recorded in the Atlantic, when the barometric pressure dropped to
882 millibars. This broke the previous record of 888 millibars, set
by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Lower pressure with a storm means
stronger winds.
