Florida bears the brunt of nature's fury once again

Florida bears the brunt of nature's fury once again

After battering and ravaging the Gulf of Mexico, the deadly hurricane Wilma is heading towards Florida. With the hurricane winds traveling at a speed of 115 mph, alarm bells have started ringing in Florida. What is alarming is the speed at which the hurricane is approaching Florida.

The south west coast of Florida is expected to be the worst hit. The Category three status has already been conferred on Wilma. A huge landfall is estimated along the coast. The city of Key West has already started facing the brunt of the hurricane with the streets being flooded with ankle deep water. Experts fear as to what would happen once the hurricane hits with its entire fury.

Weather forecasters have predicted that the water flooding could reach a good five to six meters where Wilma makes a landfall. The State of Florida is heavily hurricane prone and the last fourteen months have seen a number of hurricanes hitting the state. Although the weathermen have issued warnings and called for a mass evacuation, they feel that the people have not taken them seriously. The hurricane is expected to hit Florida early Monday morning.

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All the evacuation routes would close by Sunday evening and the officials have asked the people to remain indoors. The government is extremely tense since the majority of the people chose not to evacuate and preferred to stay behind. The Florida Keys do not have structures to counter the strong hurricane winds and hence no make shift arrangement were made. The keys are expected to be the worst hit.

The southern peninsula of Florida was under constant scanner as an estimated population of 160,000 simply refused to evacuate. Only a mere ten percent of the population in the keys has moved on.

The people in general are frustrated over constant evacuation and are willing to face nominal damages. The magnitude of the damage has not been very high in the previous three hurricanes. But Wilma having shown its fury along the Mexican coastline, the officials are keeping their fingers crossed. Even the islands of Haiti and Jamaica were severely affected.

Adequate steps have been taken by the administration to counter the scarcity of food and basic amenities. The military too has swung into action and the National Guard was put on high alert. Packaged food has been stocked in plenty.