Millions begin recovery in Wilma’s aftermath

updated 9:21 p.m. ET Oct. 25, 2005

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Repair crews across Florida struggled Tuesday to restore electricity to up to 6 million people, reopen the region’s airports and replace countless windows blown out of downtown high-rises during Hurricane Wilma’s ruinous dash across the state.

Officials said it could take weeks for Florida’s most heavily populated region — the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach area — to return to normal.

Water and gas became precious commodities, and people waited for hours for free water, ice and food. Lines stretched for blocks at the few gas stations with the electricity needed to pump fuel, and arguments broke out when motorists tried to cut in line. More than 500 people waited outside one store for cleanup supplies.

But barely 24 hours after the Category 3 storm struck, there were signs of recovery.

“We have power! We have power!” several residents of Miami Lakes chanted as they ran out their back doors when the lights came on.

The quantity of debris was daunting: Pieces of roofs, trees, signs, awnings, fences, billboards and pool screens were scattered across several counties. Damage estimates ranged up to $10 billion.

“Tomorrow’s going to be better than today,” Gov. Jeb Bush said.

Some of the worst damage was in downtown Fort Lauderdale, where Wilma was the strongest hurricane to strike since 1950. Winds of more than 100 mph blew out windows in high-rises, many built before Florida enacted tougher construction codes following Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Broken glass at the Crystal Palace
The school district’s 14-story headquarters — known as the Crystal Palace — was stripped of nearly its entire glass facade on one side.

“We’re going to have to fix it in a way that is stronger,” schools superintendent Frank Till said.

Government officials and business executives scrambled to repair buildings and find other places to work. Broward County court officials were trying to determine whether sessions could be held at the damaged courthouse in coming days.

Some schools and courts closed for the week. Orders to boil water were issued in many locations. Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties imposed overnight curfews.

At Miami International, the busiest U.S. hub for Latin American travel, the first plane to land since the hurricane arrived Tuesday from Brazil, and domestic flights were to resume Wednesday morning. Airports at Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach remained closed to commercial traffic but emergency aircraft were coming into both facilities.

At least 2,000 domestic and international flights were disrupted by the storm, affecting hundreds of thousands of fliers, when Wilma knocked out electricity and damaged roofs, towers, fences and other equipment.

Broad swath of damage
Agriculture officials said damage to their industry would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The greatest losses were believed to be to the winter vegetable crop, which provides more than half of the nation’s supply from November to February. Also hurt were sugar cane fields and ornamental-plant nurseries.

The 21st storm in the worst Atlantic hurricane season on record, Wilma was blamed for at least five deaths statewide. Before hitting the United States, it killed at least six people in Mexico, one in Jamaica and 12 in Haiti as it swirled across the Caribbean.

“It will be days or weeks before we are back to normal,” Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said.

In the wake of complaints over the way the government dealt with Hurricane Katrina, the governor praised the early response to Wilma.

But not everyone was so pleased. Thousands of people reportedly stood in line for up to 10 hours in North Miami, waiting for relief supplies that did not arrive until early evening.

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