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Wilma kills 6 in Florida; 6 million without power
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-25 09:10 "It was very serene and there were birds flying," a wet and shivering
Morgerman said. "And then when we got here and got out of the car, it was like a
rocket went off."
A man in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs died when a tree fell on
him. Another man in rural Collier County died when his roof collapsed on him or
a tree fell on his roof. In Palm Beach County, a man went to move his van and
was killed when debris smashed him into the windshield.
Also, an 83-year-old St. Johns County woman died in a weekend car crash while
evacuating. A man in Collier County had a fatal heart attack while walking in
the storm. An 82-year-old woman in Boyton Beach died after a sliding glass door
in her living room fell on her as she looked out.
Wilma also killed at least six people in Mexico and 13 others in Jamaica and
Haiti as it made is way across the Caribbean.
NOAA satellite image of Hurricane Wilma and
Tropical Depression Alpha (R) taken at 9:45 a.m. EDT on October 24,
2005.[Reuters] | In Cuba, rescuers used scuba gear, inflatable rafts and amphibious vehicles
to pull nearly 250 people from their flooded homes in Havana after Wilma sent
huge waves crashing into the capital city and swamped neighborhoods up to four
blocks inland with 3 feet of water.
In Cancun, Mexico, troops and federal police moved in to control looting at
stores and shopping centers ripped open by the hurricane, and hunger and
frustration mounted among Mexicans and stranded tourists. President Vicente Fox
announced plans to start evacuating some 30,000 frazzled tourists.
Wilma's arrival in Florida came five days after it astounded forecasters with
terrifying Category 5 winds of 175 mph. At one point, it was the most intense
storm — as measured by internal barometric pressure — on record in the Atlantic
basin.
Wilma shared space in the Atlantic with Tropical Depression Alpha, which
became the record-breaking 22nd named storm of the 2005 season. Alpha, which
drenched Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Sunday, was not considered a threat
to the United States.
President Bush, bitterly criticized for a sluggish response to Hurricane
Katrina, signed a disaster declaration for hurricane-damaged areas and promised
swift action to help Wilma's victims. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
was prepared to send in dozens of military helicopters and 13.2 million
ready-to-eat meals.
"We have prepositioned food, medicine, communications equipment, urban
search-and-rescue teams," he said. "We will work closely with local and state
authorities to respond to this hurricane."
National Guard units airlifted 12 patients from a Key West hospital, and
other units were prepared to deliver food, water and other supplies to the Keys.
For a change, lack of air conditioning was not an immediate concern in the
aftermath of a hurricane. The strong cold front that pushed Wilma through
Florida was expected to send the wind-chill factor into the 40s Tuesday morning.
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