WhiteWolf said:
FOX is reporting that people living in some of the mobile home parks have been calling to be rescued. How anyone would even think of riding out a hurricane in a mobile home boggles the mind. I hope we don't have the loss of life like with Katrina.
I'll bet a lot of those people are willing to eat their words about "wanting to ride this out where they were."
Hurricane Wilma grew stronger as it charged toward southwest Florida early Monday, packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and churning up walls of seawater that could make thousands of Keys residents regret they defied evacuation orders.
Wilma was expected to bring a 17-foot storm surge when it makes landfall before dawn along the state's southwest corner, likely near Naples and Marco Island.
"This is a very dangerous hurricane," said National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield. "People need to stay hunkered down."
At 5 a.m. EDT, Wilma was a powerful Category 3 centered about 55 miles southwest of Naples and moving northeast at about 20 mph with no signs of weakening.
Hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph extended up to 90 miles from the center and wind blowing at tropical storm-force reached outward up to 230 miles, the hurricane center said.
More than 22,600 people were in shelters across the state. But in the low-lying Florida Keys, not even 10 percent of the Keys' 78,000 residents evacuated, Sheriff Richard Roth said.
That could prove to be a mistake: While Wilma was not expected to make landfall over the Keys, the storm could bring a surge of 8 feet to sections of the low-lying island chain.
"They're going to be in deep trouble," warned Billy Wagner, the senior Monroe County emergency management director. Key West was already experiencing minor street flooding early Monday and a wind gust of 76 mph was measured there. Power outages were reported in both the Keys and along the southwest side of the state.
http://tinyurl.com/clsr9
