Hurricane Wilma flashes across Florida
Hurricane Wilma dashed across Florida, knocking down trees and power lines and flooding low-lying areas on its path to the Atlantic Ocean.
But it apparently had a limited impact on tourism. Some hotel guests were confined to their rooms, but even such outdoor attractions as Discovery Cove’s “swim with the dolphins” program in Orlando carried on activities as normal.
An unknown number of hotels lost power.
Airports across South Florida were closed temporarily. Some major attracitons closed temporarily.
The hurricane also spawned tornadoes across the state.
One of the most impacted areas was Key West, where reports were that 35% of the city was flooded. Travel in and out of Key West was severely limited.
At least one death was attributed to the storm, which also cut power to several million people.
This year’s hurricane season is the worst ever for the Atlantic / Caribbean region. The area of U.S. territory that suffered hurricane damage this year is approximately as large as Great Britain, according to The Voice of America.
Wilma weakened as it crossed the state.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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