Hurricane Wilma Crosses Florida; Broward Wakes Up to Widespread Damage

Hurricane Wilma made landfall near Cape Romano on Florida's southwest coast at roughly 6:30 a.m. Monday as a Category 3 hurricane and tracked across the state in less than five hours, exiting near Jupiter on the Atlantic coast as a Category 2. South Florida — including Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties — absorbed sustained hurricane-force winds for the first time in more than a decade, leaving widespread structural damage, downed power lines and one of the largest power outages in Florida history.

Florida Power & Light reported that more than three million of its customers were without power by midday Monday, with virtually all of Broward County dark by the time the back side of the eyewall pulled away. Cellular service across the region was intermittent through Monday afternoon. Broward County Public Schools, which had announced a closure for Monday and Tuesday over the weekend, extended the closure indefinitely pending damage assessment of all schools and the restoration of utilities. The district has more than 230 campuses to inspect.

Damage in Broward stretched from the coastal corridor to the western suburbs. Roofs were peeled off apartment buildings in Sunrise, Plantation, Lauderhill and Tamarac. Strip-mall awnings and parking-lot light poles fell across the county. The high-rise Las Olas and downtown Fort Lauderdale corridor had widespread window damage, with glass blown out of office buildings facing east and south. Traffic signals were down across nearly every major intersection from Interstate 95 west to U.S. 27. Tree damage was extensive, with mature ficus, oak and royal palms uprooted in older neighborhoods.

The Broward Sheriff's Office, Fort Lauderdale Police, Sunrise Police and other municipal departments coordinated through the county's emergency operations center, which had been activated since Saturday. Curfews were in effect across multiple municipalities Monday night, with BSO and the Florida Highway Patrol enforcing road closures and helping clear debris from arterial roads to allow emergency vehicles through. Gas stations across the county were closed Monday because of power loss; lines began forming Tuesday morning at the small number that had backup generators.

Governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency for South Florida ahead of the storm, and President George W. Bush signed a federal disaster declaration Monday afternoon. FEMA-supplied water, ice and meal distribution sites are scheduled to begin operating across Broward later this week. FPL has projected that full power restoration across South Florida will take days to weeks, depending on neighborhood. Wilma is the eighth hurricane to make landfall in Florida in the past 14 months, the most destructive in Broward in memory, and the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record by central pressure earlier this month before weakening prior to landfall.